From Out of the Rift
by Miles333
Summary: When stopping for refueling at the Rift in Cardiff, the Doctor learns of a possibly lethal being that plans to travel out of the Rift and into the unsuspecting city. He has no choice but to go to Torchwood for help. Things don't exactly go as planned...
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N:** Yes, this is a story with David Tennant's Doctor in it, despite the fact that he regenerated so long ago. *sniffles* I've been writing this fic for a few months, and just now finished it to be posted. So please review, and I'll post a new chapter really soon! :D

**Summary:** When stopping for refueling at the Rift in Cardiff, the Doctor learns of a possibly lethal being that plans to travel out of the Rift and into the unsuspecting city. He has no choice but to go to Torchwood for help. Things don't exactly go as planned…

**Timeline:** After _Journey's End_ for the Doctor, but before _Fragments_ for Torchwood.

* * *

Chapter One

The ancient engines of the TARDIS ground and wheezed as its police public call box shell slowly materialized into existence. Anyone walking by on the Cardiff sidewalk would have seen the blue box appear where there had previously been nothing. But lucky for the heart conditions of any of these said people, no one was around to notice such a phenomenon.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor raced around the control console with his usual maniac excitement, pushing buttons and pulling levers and occasionally whacking something with a rubber hammer. At last, he came to a halt and flicked a single switch into its upright position. The light above the console flickered strangely, signaling that the Rift absorption had begun, loading the TARDIS up with fresh fuel.

"You've never _been_ so quiet, Donna," the Time Lord said loudly, polishing a gleaming lever with his sleeve. "Does that mean you're–" He broke off suddenly, throat working as he swallowed hard. He looked up from the console, blinking several times as he studied the cavernously empty room stretched out around him.

He'd forgotten, just for a moment. There _was_ no Donna, nor anyone else. They were all gone, even Rose. And…he was all alone, as he would be for eternity. That was the curse of the Time Lord, one which he should have learned to accept by now. And yet he hadn't.

The Doctor cleared his throat, sniffing once. "Right, then. I'll just finish up here, then head off again. Maybe to the past. I haven't really been there in a while. And it should be snowing. Definitely snowing. Real snow, not ash from explosions above the planet or atmospheric disturbances. Real, white, and _fluffy_ snow." The Doctor grinned at the thought, trying to pretend that he couldn't feel the lack of response to his words all too well.

Something on the control console bleeped, a small white light flashing a warning. The Doctor, brown eyes becoming almost comically wide, reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his glasses. Setting them haphazardly atop the bridge of his nose, he leaned forward and studied the flashing light. "Why're you bleeping, then? You _never_ bleep. Well, when I say never, I mean not often. Well, when I say not often…"

An image appeared on the small screen of the console, and the Doctor jerked it around to face him. He stared for several moments at the grainy image, along with the swirling symbols of his native language that accompanied it. Then he frowned. "Well, that's not very good," he said to no one in particular. "I'm no expert of course – well, who am I kidding? I _am_ an expert – but I _highly_ doubt that a Lohk should be in even the general _vicinity_ of Earth. It's a level five planet, and consuming even one-third of it is against Law 225 of the Shadow Proclamation."

The Doctor swept the glasses from his nose and stuffed them into his pocket. "Right, then. Even _I_ can't convince a Lohk not to devour the planet, so I'm going to need a little help…" He broke off and groaned at his own thoughts, pulling a face. "Unfortunately for me, Torchwood is full of guns. And if there's one thing I can't stand, it's _guns_."

Reaching into a cupboard under the console, the Doctor rummaged around for a tick and finally produced a handheld DNA explorative device. Shaking it round for several seconds, it finally started glowing a bright yellow. "Brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed, idly tapping the little dish with one finger. "Captain Jack Harkness, here I come!"

* * *

"From what I can tell, these things are organic, made of living materials." Owen, dead man and medic of Torchwood, poked with his scalpel at a lump of rock-like material that sat on the examining table in his lab. As he spoke, he turned round to face Jack, waving the scalpel through the air to finish his statement.

Jack raised both eyebrows expectantly, from his position at the railing above the lab area. "And that means…?"

"They're eggs," Owen said simply, shrugging once.

"_Eggs_? What the hell do you mean, _eggs_?" Gwen, who was stationed along with Jack at the rail, took an involuntary step back. Ever since she had been impregnated with an alien creature on the day before her wedding, several months earlier, she wasn't too fond of eggs. Rhys couldn't even get her to eat scrambled for breakfast.

"Calm down, Gwen. I doubt they're going to bleeding jump down your throat," was Owen's supposedly calming statement. "They seem basically harmless, except for the fact that they're eggs."

Jack immediately picked up on the other man's thoughts. "And that we have absolutely no idea what could come out of them at any minute," he finished.

"Right," Owen agreed. "Could be a deadly virus, some more of those mayfly things, or a big fat zero. There's really no way of knowing."

"Can you run more tests?" Jack asked.

"I've done all of them that I can possibly do, Jack. The shells are like lead, and can't even be bloody x-rayed."

Ianto walked up to join Gwen and Jack at the rail, leaning over slightly to peer down at the strange objects. "Is it possible that this is the way Weevils reproduce?" he suggested. "We _did_ find it down in the sewer."

"Then why haven't we found any of these things before now?" Jack pointed out.

Ianto shrugged his shoulders silently.

"It _is_ a possible theory. Who's to say that Weevils don't bear their young in eggs?" Owen spoke up again, turning back to face his newest project. He poked again at an egg, squinting down at the gray shell. It for a moment seemed to swell under the metal touch, growing larger. Owen blinked in surprise, and found that he couldn't really tell if the egg had grown or not. It still looked the same, so he didn't say anything to the others.

"Jack?" Tosh, who had previously been typing away at her work station and translating a few documents, called to them. "I've just registered a high spike in Rift activity. It's nearly off the charts."

Jack jogged over to the final member of the team, placing one hand on her shoulder as he leaned towards the computer screen. "It looks like some of the energy in the spike is being drained away," he mused.

"I think you're right, Jack, which is why I called you," Tosh told him, adjusting her tasteful pink glasses. "I've never seen or recorded anything like it."

"The question is, where is it going?" Jack said softly, blue eyes widening. And then they widened again as a sudden thought struck him. "Toshiko, is there CCTV in the vicinity of the Rift spike?"

"Yes, I think so," Tosh said. "Within fifty yards of the location of the Rift activity."

"Bring it up on screen," Jack said tensely, leaning forward even more. Behind him, Ianto and Gwen exchanged a glance at his strange behavior. Owen paid none of them any attention, absorbed in poking away at the alien eggs.

Tosh typed several commands into the computer, fingers skating skillfully across the keys. The diagram displaying the Rift spike disappeared into cyberspace, and a grainy picture of downtown Cardiff appeared on the screen. Tosh, brow furrowing prettily, navigated the camera in a slow rotation, sweeping across the area. She landed its focal point on the sidewalk before a large building, shrugging at Jack. "I don't see anything, Jack. What exactly should I be looking for?"

But Jack didn't answer her. He had gone almost deathly still, staring at what appeared to be a blue phone booth in the center of the screen. He reached out and touched the image with a single finger, hand shaking. "Toshiko, can you zoom in here?"

"Of course," she responded, still frowning. She touched several keys, and the CCTV camera zoomed in to a close shot of the supposed phone booth. White lettering could be seen printed above the double doors, along with a flier posted at one of them.

Owen, oblivious of the captain's tension, felt his eyes grow wide when all five of the eggs suddenly grew in unison. This time he knew for sure that they had gotten bigger, that it wasn't his imagination. They had seconds before been the size of baseballs, and now they were each roughly as large as a Frisbee. "Uh…Jack?"

"What is it, Jack?" Gwen asked, hurrying over to stand by the workstation. Ianto quickly followed her, brow knitting as he saw the strange intensity that Jack was staring with at the computer screen.

"The TARDIS," Jack breathed, almost reverently.

"The what?" Gwen demanded, planting both hands on her hips.

"Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

"I'm afraid I don't exactly understand, sir," Ianto said.

"Jack?" The eggs were now at least two times bigger than they had been moments before, about the size of footballs. Owen wasn't really liking the looks of them, as a third time they swelled in size before his eyes.

"It's the Doctor. He's come back for me again." Jack shook himself, as though trying to clear his head. "The Rift is where he stops to refuel his TARDIS. And that's what he's doing right now." He looked around the Hub almost frantically. "I've got to go; I've got to get over there before he leaves again–"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gwen blurted out angrily, green eyes narrowing into slits. "You can't _leave_ us again, Jack! The last time you went running off after that bloody Doctor of yours, you were gone for _weeks_!"

An unreadable expression crossed Jack's face, something like regret shimmering in his eyes. "Much longer than that, Gwen."

"Jack."

"And you always get all cryptic and secretive like that with us! You won't even bloody tell us where you _were_ all that time!" Gwen yelled.

"She's right, Jack," Ianto agreed quietly. "You keep hinting, but you never tell us anything concrete. I thought you _trusted_ us." His eyes were full of betrayal and quiet sadness.

"Jack."

The unreadable expression vanished, replaced by irritation. "Oh, for the love of…it's not like I don't _want_ to tell you what happened, _all_ of you," he explained tightly. "But I _can't_. None of you even remember what happened, and it would seem insane to you."

"What do you mean?" Tosh asked quietly, taking off her glasses. The others wore looks of confusion similar to her own, each of them wanting to know the answers to whatever Jack was hiding from them this time.

He hesitated. "I told you, I can't just tell you what happened–"

"_Jack_!" Owen shouted, taking a step away from the lab table. Each of the five eggs was now comparative to the size of a large dog, the table straining beneath their combined weight. "I hate to interrupt your little heart-to-heart, but we've got a _situation_ over here!"

Jack glanced at Gwen, who was still glaring furiously at him, then looked towards the lab. "What is it, Owen?" he asked, snapping his attention to concentrate on this new problem.

Before Owen could answer him, the eggs hatched.

* * *

"_Ha_! The little dish is going round!" The Doctor grinned as he walked in the front door of the Tourist Information Center, holding his handheld DNA explorative device in one hand. He peered curiously around the supposed office, which was suspiciously lacking a receptionist. Stowing the glorified tracker into one pocket, both his hands swiftly followed.

Raising his eyebrows, he rocked back on his heels and waited for about six seconds. Then he reached over the desk and impatiently rang the little bell several times. He waited a few more seconds, with no results, then strolled casually round the desk and flipped the switch for the hidden door across the room. As it slowly slid open, he made his way through the entrance and down the winding hallway.

Along the way, he paused to study various bits of obviously alien technology, clucking his tongue with disapproval at what he saw. So that's why it took the Time Lord about twice the normal amount of time to reach the cog wheel door at the very end of the corridor.

"Jack, Jack, Jack. Always did like to do things as impressively as possible. And Torchwood has really come up since Queen Victoria founded the place," the Doctor murmured to himself absently, noting for future reference that the cog wheel rolled back when some machinery deep inside it sensed motion.

Making a vaguely interested noise in the back of his throat, the Doctor stepped over the threshold and peered around the inside of the Hub. More alien technology spanned the enormous area surrounding him, and he heard a suspiciously prehistoric cawing sound coming from somewhere above his head. "Hmmm…interesting place you've got here, Jack," he announced to the imaginary captain he'd been speaking to for the past few minutes. "Almost as homey as the TARDIS, and that's a real compliment. Well, when I say almost, I mean not quite. Well, when I say not quite…"

"Oi! How the hell did you get in here?" came a voice from across the room. The Doctor turned with minor surprise, and discovered a wiry bloke in a white coat standing behind a work station, waving a gun around like he owned it. Most of his features were concealed by shadows.

"I walked, actually," the Doctor said calmly. "Now, why don't you put down the gun before someone gets hurt, eh?" He recognized a psychopath when he saw one, and psychopaths waving guns about were never good. Besides, what else could the bloke be, when he was perfectly safe in his own base, waving a gun around like a mad Dalek was after him? Not that all Daleks weren't mad, of course...

A pretty Asian woman seemingly appeared from out of nowhere behind the bloke, also holding a gun. Her dark eyes were wide, quickly scanning overthe entire room.

"Blimey, at least I know I'm in the right place," the Doctor said, heaving a tremendous sigh. "Torchwood might as well just _advertise_ the number of guns in their collection, because it has the makings of a big one."

The woman ignored him, staring at something out of his line of vision. "There it is!" she cried, raising her gun to fire.

And yet before she could pull the trigger, a wall of razor-sharp claws and teeth ran into the Doctor's back, plowing him over. He cried out once with shock from the blow, kicking out and managing to roll over onto his back. His attacker turned out to be a horribly fanged, gray-skinned Fddorian, poised to tear his throat completely out. It was, incidentally, a flesh-eater, preferring the taste of humans to anything else.

"Um…I don't suppose there's some way I could _reason_ with you, is there?" the Doctor asked quickly. "I don't really want to move on to the next regeneration yet, understandably. If I do, I'll lose both these teeth _and_ my boyish features. And the whole universe would suffer the loss of those, let me tell you."

For some strange reason, the Fddorian didn't seem sympathetic to the Doctor's pleas. It only smiled wolfishly, fangs flashing in the dim lighting, then lunged swiftly in for the kill. The Doctor flinched back, and squeezed his eyes closed, waiting for the pain of death followed by the burning glow of his regeneration cycle…

…Then dimly heard two shots from one of those ghastly guns, and felt the Fddorian's body jerk twice. Its full weight fell atop of him, but not to mortally maim him. It was instead limp and lifeless; the Doctor could practically _feel_ the life bleeding out of the creature. His eyes shot open, and he stared incredulously at the deadweight atop him.

"Doctor!" Jack suddenly raced to fall melodramatically on his knees beside him. "Doctor, are you hurt?" He shoved the Fddorian's lifeless body away as though it weighed nothing, then quickly offered a hand to the Time Lord.

Accepting it, the Doctor pulled himself into a sitting position. Instead of answering Jack's frantic question, he stared down dejectedly at the blackish blood coating his front. "I _really_ liked this suit," he declared gloomily.

Jack visibly relaxed, getting back to his feet. He sheathed his pistol, an easy-going grin coming to his face. "I'll take that as a _yes_, then."

The Doctor popped to his feet, nonchalantly brushing himself off. Glancing around the room once more, he briskly indicated the deceased creature with one hand. "I'd think Torchwood could afford to look over references better than this, Jack. I mean, hiring a Fddorian to work here? Sloppy, considering the fact that they _eat people_."

Another woman and a man wearing an impeccable suit had appeared beside the other two. The second woman tucked her gun into the back of her jeans, then crossed her arms. "Jack. Who the _hell_ is this?" she demanded harshly.

The Doctor, forehead wrinkling, turned curiously to see what Jack would say to this. He couldn't have been more surprised when Jack put one arm around his shoulders and announced cheerfully, "This is the Doctor I've been telling all of you about. And Doctor, welcome to Torchwood."

**

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**

Please review, okay? Okay. :D


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N:** Thanks so much for all the great reviews, everyone! You have no idea how much I love hearing from you! :)

* * *

Chapter Two

"So, Doctor." Jack firmly shut the door to his office behind them, closing out the others. He could feel through the window their weighty stares on his back, as he had ever since he'd ushered the Doctor away and left them to clean up the mess. "How's Martha doing? I talked to her when she came…a while back, and she said she and her family were still recovering." He leaned against his desk, shoving both hands into his pants pockets.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What were you about to say?"

Jack tried to play innocent. "Whadda you mean, Doc? I just said what I planned to say, and that's that."

"I wasn't born yesterday, Jack. I'm over nine hundred years old. It's not as easy as you think it is to pull the wool over my eyes," the Doctor stated severely, brow creasing. "What were you saying about Martha?"

"Oh, nothing." Seeing the expression on the Time Lord's face, he quickly held up his hands in defeat. "Fine, fine. I wasn't going to tell you, because you'd only overreact, but I had Martha come over from UNIT to check out a body that had died under strange circumstances."

The Doctor relaxed, pulling out his glasses and balancing them atop his nose. He picked up a glimmering paperweight from the corner of Jack's desk, studying it closely. "This is a Goordanian blood diamond. Extremely rare. You can even see the dark spots in the diamond, which are caused from atmospheric disturbances as the diamonds are created in the Goordanian equivalent of a thunderstorm." He set it back down, and picked up what appeared to be a tusk of a giant boar creature from Sector Nine of the planet Laguun. "And you know that I don't want Martha getting involved with this Torchwood business," he added pointedly. "Why do you think I recommended her to UNIT instead?"

"Ah. So it _was_ you," Jack said knowingly, folding his arms.

"What?" The Doctor looked bemused.

"Just something Martha and I were talking about," he replied casually, leaving it at that.

The office remained silent for a few seconds as the Doctor examined more of Jack's collection, occasionally making an interested noise when he found something he liked. His attention was really captivated by the chunk of asteroid from deep space, which was full of golden dust from the third moon of Platuina. "So, what did you and her get up to, then?"

Jack's eyes widened minutely. "Not much, you know," he said carefully. "One of the team was, er, killed, so she had to fill in for a few days as our medic. Less than a week." The Doctor nodded absently, so Jack decided to blurt out the rest while he was at it. "Did a few autopsies, attended some meetings, helped Tosh out a little. Oh, and she became infected with alien parasites, went undercover, aged roughly sixty years, and was nearly killed by the grim reaper." He flashed a charming grin.

The Doctor nearly dropped the chuck of asteroid, fumbling frantically to regain his grip. "She did _what_?" he exploded.

"See? Overreacting."

"Jack."

"She's perfectly fine," Jack said. "Went home safe and in one piece." He decided not to mention the brief kiss she'd given him before leaving.

The Doctor shook his head, putting the asteroid carefully back into its correct place. Jack watched him for several seconds, then asked, "Well, where is she?"

It was the Doctor's turn to look wide-eyed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean your next _companion_. Surely you've got one by now, yeah?"

"Um…yeah, I…" The Doctor cleared his throat, and swallowed hard. "Can't tell you. Timelines and all that. You know how it is, of course."

Jack nodded reluctantly, sensing that there was something that the Doctor wasn't telling him. Something that he apparently didn't feel like talking about. He watched the Time Lord examine a jar of blue liquid, then grinned. "So, Doc. Are you here for business or pleasure? I'm _kind of_ hoping it's pleasure."

The Doctor frowned at him over his glasses, then took them off and whisked them away into his coat pocket. "_Business_," he answered sternly. "And as a matter of fact, you've got one _nasty_ creature headed your way out of the Rift."

Jack snapped his fingers dramatically, his expression disappointed. "And here I'd thought you'd come just to see _me_," he complained theatrically. "One look at this jaw line, and _everyone_ comes back."

The Doctor wisely chose to ignore this. "Maybe you should call a meeting to order, or whatever it is that you do," he said. "Then I'll tell all of you about what's going to happen to Cardiff, what's going to happen to the _world_, if we don't stop it."

Jack nodded briskly. "Let's go." He and the Doctor strode out of the office, and all the others glanced up from their work stations. From the expressions on their faces, especially Ianto's, Jack assumed that they had been talking about their special visitor. "Okay, everyone. The Doctor tells me that there's a creature heading out of the Rift," he announced loudly, voice ringing throughout the Hub. "So…to the conference room."

Jack following closely, the Doctor started down to join the others. His eyes widened as he watched a pterodactyl swoop above their heads, near the top of the toweringly high roof. "Blimey, that's a pterodactyl," he said with mild interest. "It's a grade six crime against the Shadow Proclamation to own one of those things for your own personal gain."

Jack laughed. "Then be sure not to tell anyone, Doctor. Myfanwy is actually pretty tame."

Before the Doctor could answer, Owen stepped forward to stare at him. "And how do you know that? Some sort of doctor of science or something?" He didn't exactly appreciate another doctor invading his turf, especially when Jack seemed so fond of him.

The Doctor's response was to leap backwards from the scowling medic, eyes growing to an enormously round size. He looked frantically over his shoulder at Jack, who was looking on with some amusement. "He's…he's _dead_, Jack! Stone dead! Deader than a corpse, but still _walking_!"

"Calm down, Doctor. This is Owen, the one I was telling you about. He died," Jack said casually. "Then we brought him back."

"You never told me that he was still _alive_ dead. You just said _dead_ dead," the Doctor blurted out, still having trouble wrapping his head round the situation. "And that's…that's _impossible_! You can't just 'bring someone back'. It's against the very laws of time and space!" He glared accusingly at Jack.

"Apparently it's not impossible, since I'm still here," Owen said flatly. "Just can't sleep, drink, or shag. I'd almost rather be _dead_ dead."

"We used something called a Resurrection Gauntlet," Jack explained patiently. He intercepted the Doctor's question before he could even put it into words. "It's destroyed now, after it attacked Martha and, uh, aged her. So you can't see it. Sorry."

"I once encountered a device that could bring people back to life," the Doctor said musingly, brow furrowing. "It was on the planet Wet, and it often–"

Owen snorted. "_Wet_?" he said incredulously. "What kind of shit name is that?"

The Doctor looked defensive. "It rained a lot there."

"Riiiight," Owen said sarcastically, obviously not believing a word the other man spoke.

"_Any_way," Jack proclaimed pointedly, looking mildly interested in what the Doctor had been saying.

"Oh, yes. Where was I? The planet Wet. The resurrection device wasn't actually a glove. It was a boot, and the person who wore it had to put their foot on the head of the one who was being resurrected. The act was eventually outlawed, since the dead started complaining about waking up with a muddy boot in their face." He shrugged. "I could sympathize with them."

Gwen cleared her throat. "Back here at Torchwood…"

Jack shook himself. "Right. Doctor, I forgot to introduce you to the team. I'm such a terrible host, so it's a good thing that you admire my jaw line." He winked, then gestured towards each member of Torchwood as he spoke. "Meet Gwen Cooper, Doctor Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato, and Ianto Jones."

The Doctor nodded absently, not missing the distinctly hostile look that was aimed at him from Ianto. He was obviously intruding into some sort of territory. He turned back to the others, and raised his eyebrows as he stared bluntly at Gwen. "I asked you earlier but you never answered me and Ro…erm, never mind. Forget I just said that, actually. So your name is Gwen _Cooper_, you say?"

"Yes," she answered warily.

"Hmmm," was all he said after that. Gwen and Tosh exchanged a look.

"Right, then. To the conference room!" The Doctor clapped his hands enthusiastically. "Though from you, Jack, I'd have thought you'd name it 'the meeting chamber' or something equally dramatic." He strolled casually towards a wide door leading deeper into the Hub, then out into the corridor and to the left.

Jack laughed at the Doctor's joke, then added, "Other way, Doc."

The Doctor, heeding his words, stalked past the doorway again, heading right this time.

Gwen reached out and grabbed Jack's sleeve before he could follow the Doctor. "Jack," she said simply, waiting until he turned to face her.

The others stood directly behind her, wearing nearly identical expressions of suspicion and mistrust. Also, Jack noticed that Ianto looked just a bit jealous. Smirking at this, he asked, "What is it, Gwen? Don't tell me _you've_ gotten a little taste of the jaw line, too."

"Enough about the bleeding jaw line," Owen said.

"We want to know more about this Doctor," Tosh said. "Who is he, and where did he come from?"

"And isn't he listed in the original Torchwood's datafiles as the reason that we were founded in the first place?" Owen demanded.

"He's a good friend of mine, and he's saved Earth millions of times," Jack said, casually not answering Owen's question. "We've even been to the end of the world together, and he stopped it. You can trust him. Now, let's not keep him waiting, yeah?" He then strode towards the meeting room, ignoring the strange looks the others exchanged as they reluctantly followed him. Ianto, on the other hand, veered off to get tea and coffee for the others.

By the time Jack, Gwen, Owen, and Tosh had all reached the meeting room, the Doctor was sitting at the head of the table. His trainers were propped up on the tabletop, arms folded behind his head as he gazed idly up at the ceiling. Gwen and Owen exchanged a glance, thinking Jack would make the mysterious Doctor shift out of his official chair, but the captain instead took a seat beside him.

"So, Doctor. Want to explain this mysterious threat that's supposedly coming out of the Rift?" Jack questioned in a laidback tone, reclining in his own seat. Before he could add anything else to his request, Ianto came into the room, artfully balancing in one hand a plastic tray with five chipped mugs resting atop it. "Now that's what I call service!" the captain declared enthusiastically, taking his personal mug from the tray. "Thanks, Ianto."

The Doctor pulled a face as he stared into the steam coming from his own mug as it was placed before him. With a small shudder, he pushed it away across the table, then looked towards Ianto. "Do you perhaps have any ginger tea in? I love ginger tea, me. Saved my life once, ginger tea did."

Owen, who had been staring longingly at the mugs, frowned at him. "What are you bleeding on about _now_? Ginger _tea_ saved your life?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said. "If Mick-Mick-Mickedy-Mick hadn't spilled the thermos of tea all over the inside of the TARDIS, I probably wouldn't have been able to finish regenerating properly. I might have come out with four and a half legs, or maybe even none!" He grinned brightly at the thought, though he still couldn't bring himself to look Owen in the eye.

"What's a…TARDIS?" Gwen asked cautiously, wrapping both hands around her mug, as though for protection from the grinning madman.

"Okay, enough chitchat. Ianto, have a seat," Jack interrupted. He briskly clapped his hands. "Doctor…?"

"Oh, yes. Right. Where was I?" The Doctor absently rubbed his nose, eyes scrunching up as he thought long and hard. "Right," he said again. "I was refueling the, er, TARDIS at the Rift. The TARDIS is my spaceship, by the way. It stands for Time And Relative Dimensions in Space, and before you ask, it's bigger on the inside."

"That's not scientifically possible," Tosh said.

"Maybe not for you lot. But it's _easy_ for Time Lords," the Doctor stated pompously. "Very dimensionally transcendent, that was us."

"So Jack said there was some sort of creature?" Gwen asked, tactfully changing the subject.

"Yes, in fact. One _very_ hungry Lohk, to be exact."

"What's a Lohk? Besides hungry?" Jack asked.

"The Lohk are from a species that was created before time itself. One that is basically feared by all life out there," the Doctor said, glancing round the table to meet the eyes of every member of the Torchwood team. Except Owen, that is. "They're unimaginably enormous, and tend to eat everything in their paths."

"Sounds nasty," Owen noted.

"Very."

"So this Lohk is headed out of the Rift, straight for Cardiff?" Ianto clarified.

"Yup. And once Cardiff has been sucked into its cavernous _maw_, the rest of planet Earth will shortly follow," the Doctor said. "That's why I decided that I could use Torchwood's help to stop it. Peacefully," he added as an afterthought.

"Wouldn't expect anything less from you, Doctor," Jack said, leaning back in his seat. "So, ideas? How can we _peacefully_ stop this thing from eating the entire world?"

"When is it scheduled to get here?" Owen asked, frowning and clasping his hands on the tabletop before him.

"Not until late tonight or tomorrow morning, by my calculations. Traveling through the Rift without any sort of protection against the Rift storm doesn't tend to work out too well," the Doctor admitted. "And the Lohk is probably getting loads of temporal feedback. As for a plan…er, I haven't exactly got one yet. But I'm sure it won't take _too_ long to develop one."

"I envy your enthusiasm, Doctor," Jack said flatly. "If we can't just use brute force on this thing, and you say it's pretty damn big, then how the hell are we supposed to stop it?"

"Welllll, like I said, I haven't exactly worked that out yet," the Doctor admitted. "But since I'm _brilliant_, I'm sure it won't take me long." He grinned cheekily.

Owen looked disgusted.

Something beeped shrilly, and Tosh reached into her pocket. Pulling out her handheld scanner, which seemed to do a bit of everything, she studied its small screen carefully. "There's been a Weevil attack downtown," she reported. "The Weevils apparently retreated to the sewers afterwards."

"Any casualties?" Jack stood, checking to make sure that his pistol relic still hung at its usual position on his belt.

"No. But several pedestrians have been taken to the local hospital for severe injuries," she answered him.

"Right, then. This Lohk thing is going to have to wait. Doctor, up for a little Weevil chase through the dark sewers?" Jack leered, not seeming to notice the jealous look Ianto gave him.

"What's a Weevil?" the Doctor asked suspiciously. He pushed his chair back and stood.

Jack grinned wickedly. "You'll find out, Doc. Toshiko, you stay here and try to find out anything you can about the Lohk. Ianto, see about cleaning up the mess from the alien eggs, yeah? And Gwen and Owen, you're with us."

"Right." Owen stood. He glanced at Ianto, then pretended not to notice the uncharacteristically hostile look on the other man's face.

"Okay, team. Let's move out," Jack announced dramatically.

"This could definitely prove to be interesting," was the Doctor's comment. He studied all the guns warily, then followed the other three as they headed for the cog wheel door.

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Please be kind and review again, okay? Thanks in advance! :D

Edit: And thanks to _JantoForever21_ for pointing out the thing with Owen. I'm not sure how I missed it. O_o But it's fixed now!


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N:** I really appreciate all the reviews!

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Chapter Three

Jack pulled the Torchwood SUV to a stop in downtown Cardiff, tires squealing loudly. He opened his door and climbed out, WWII coat flapping around his legs in the faint breeze. "Cardiff seems quiet tonight," he noted aloud. "I guess savage aliens attacking people in the street makes them all stay inside." He pulled out his gun and cocked it.

"If they lived in London, especially at Christmastime, they wouldn't be so worried about aliens all the time," the Doctor announced, climbing from the passenger seat and jumping down to the concrete. His dirty trainers made a muted thud under his weight.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

The Doctor turned to stare back at her. "Spaceships in the sky, people with type A positive blood trying to leap off roofs, _Titanic_ replicas nearly hitting Buckingham Palace, alien webs with huge red spiders in them? Ringing a bell? No?"

"I heard about the _Titanic_ thing," Owen said, pulling out his gun. "It sounded too much like a bloody hoax to me. I mean, aliens driving a big boat through the sky? Some people will believe anything."

The Doctor's lips curved up into an absent but decidedly fond smile. "You sound just like Don…er, never mind. Are we going to stand here smacking our gobs all day, or chase down these so-called 'Weevil' creatures? True, I could probably pull off the smacking-the-gob thing easily enough, but I've heard that too much talking is bad for your teeth. And I'm _determined_ to keep these beauties." He grinned widely to show off said teeth, then stuffed both hands in his pockets and headed down the sidewalk, shoulders hunched against the wind.

Jack frowned. He didn't move as Gwen and Owen both jogged after the Doctor. First earlier when they'd both been in his office, and now _this_. There was definitely something going on that the Doctor wasn't telling him. And come to think of it, he hadn't even asked the Doctor what timeline he'd come from. Jack didn't even know if the Time Lord had come from his own past or from the future.

"You coming, Jack?" Gwen called back to him, pausing to look over her shoulder.

Shaking away his troubling thoughts, he jogged to catch up with the others. "Of _course_ I am. Don't want to miss out on introducing the Doctor to Cardiff's finest!"

"It go down there?" Owen gestured with his gun towards a rusted manhole cover in the street before them.

The captain nodded. "Yup." His lips popped on the 'p' to empathize the single word.

"_Not_ a trip through the sewers," Gwen sighed, slim shoulders slumping slightly. "I was hoping that we could, you know, pass up on it for the day? I'd rather fancy facing this Lohk thing than go down there."

"You heard Toshiko. That's where they all headed after the attack. Something must have provoked them," Jack mused, toeing the cover away with his scuffed boot. It made a loud grating sound against the asphalt, echoing through the mostly empty street.

The Doctor leapt out of the way of a speeding car just in time. "I take it you lot venture to the sewers often? Not a preferred hangout of mine, though I once visited the planet of sewers." He pulled a face. "I was mobbed, since I was the only tourist stupid enough to go there. They very nearly stole my sonic screwdriver."

"Enough chitchat," Jack interrupted. He gestured politely towards Gwen. "Ladies first?"

"Then by all means, go ahead, Jack. We'll follow right behind you," Owen said, grinning at the captain's exasperated look.

"You just want the excellent view you'll get from _behind_ me," Jack cracked, disappearing as he leapt down through the hole and landed with a tremendous splash.

"You know, I just might forgive the fact that you're dead. Can't help it, I suppose. Not really your fault that Jack was such a daft nutter to bring you back to life in the first place." Seeing the strange look on Owen's face, the Doctor hurriedly backpedaled. "Oh, sorry. Even after all this time, I forget that this regeneration is just a bit rude. So ignore anything that comes out of this gob of mine. I just tend to open my mouth and have words come out. They don't usually mean anything."

With that, he finally clammed up and followed Jack's downward descent into the dark sewer. He landed in suspicious-smelling water that soaked him all the way up to his knees, splashed by even more of it as Owen and Gwen landed one after the other behind him.

In the glow of the three torches, Jack's face looked waxy, like a store dummy. The Doctor was reminded briefly of the Autons. "Okay, so we split up and divide our efforts, yeah?"

"I'll go with Gwen," Owen said hurriedly, waving his gun towards her to empathize his point.

"Oi, watch where you're pointing that thing!" The Doctor reached out and pushed the gun away from Gwen, frowning disapprovingly. "You could put someone's eye out!"

Owen's expression was somewhere between sheepish and defensive as he pointed it towards the ground. "I know what I'm doing."

"_O_kay." Jack, who had been watching this little scene with much interest written across his face, clapped his hands enthusiastically. The brisk sound rang out in the cavernous tunnel, apparently amplified by the dirty water all around them. "Owen, you go with the Doctor and head that way." He paused to gesture helpfully to the right. "And Gwen and I'll tackle _that_ direction." He pointed to the left.

Owen's brown eyes widened in disbelief. "_What_? Why're you sending me with the bloody nutter?"

"Nutter? Who're you calling a nutter?" the Doctor asked with mock outrage.

"Anyone who just calls himself 'the Doctor' has to be mad," Owen reasoned. "Haven't you even got a name?"

The Doctor nodded seriously, widening his eyes strangely. "Oh, yes. And my name is…the Doctor."

Jack grinned. "I think it'll be a good experience for both of you. Now get to it. And call on your comm. if you two find anything, Owen." Jack turned and sloshed away, the brownish water creating small waves around his body as he moved. Gwen shrugged apologetically at Owen, then hurried after him. A muffled curse echoed back to them as she nearly fell face first into the muck.

The Doctor stuffed both hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. "So…Weevil hunting, eh? What exactly do these things look like? You know, so I can be on my guard." He removed his hands again and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He twisted its end, and a comfortingly blue light flooded the tunnel.

Owen, looking resigned to the fact that he was currently stuck with the Doctor, started walking. "Wrinkled skin, humanoid, usually in some kind of ratty old garb. Jack's apparently never seen anything like it, so we've got no idea what they're really called. And what's that you've got there?"

The Doctor stared down with some surprise at his hand, as though it belonged to someone else. "Oh, this? Sonic screwdriver. The latest model, since I fried my old one while taking out a MRI machine that a Plasmavore intended to blow up half the Earth with from a hospital on the moon."

Owen pulled a face. "Oh. Right." He peered ahead in the blue and yellow artificial lighting that came from his torch and the Doctor's screwdriver. "So, you and Jack go way back, do you? Just how did you two meet?"

The Doctor definitely knew a ploy for information when he heard one, peering over at the medic from the corner of his eye. So, Jack hadn't told the Torchwood team much about his past. Not to mention his future. It wasn't really much of a surprise, to be honest. "Oh, you know. Jack helped me and, er, me stop some chanting gas mask zombies. And it just kind of went on from there."

"Gas mask…zombies?"

"Oh, yes." The Doctor's eyes widened, and he jogged forward a few steps before stopping to look back, an intense expression on his face. "Did you see that? It looked like a couple of shadows darting off down that side tunnel."

"That'd be the Weevils, then." Owen touched his comm. and spoke quietly into it. "Jack, I think we've got something," he reported.

"Understood. Gwen and I haven't come across anything yet, so we'll head back your way," Jack replied.

"Okay. Over and out." Owen took his hand from the comm., then moved warily into the side tunnel that the Doctor had indicated. He firmly re-gripped his gun and torch in both hands, then his eyes landed on four shadows that were darker than the rest. They were huddled together in a little group just ahead. As his eyes narrowed, one of the shadows moved, a snarl ripping from its throat.

"I think you're right. Those are _definitely_ the Weevils." The Doctor agreed with Owen's earlier statement, sounding for some reason excited. He took several steps forward towards the shadows, using his screwdriver to light the way. He gaped at the huddling Weevils as their features were revealed in the dim light, not seeming to notice the fact that they were shifting on their feet and growling dangerously at him.

"Doctor, I'd move away if I were you," Owen said quietly.

The Doctor didn't react, lips slowly pulling back into a maniac grin. "Brilliant! These look like lower life forms from the Plackanonian wasteland on Bulnania! Blimey, I haven't seen one of these in _ages_!"

"A what?" Owen asked with confusion, just as the Weevils loped towards them, water splashing out around their bodies in small waves. He cursed, bringing his gun up and firing off a warning shot at the ceiling. The bullet slammed into the rock ceiling with an explosive noise, sending smaller pebbles raining down onto their heads. The Weevils paused for several seconds, looking uncertain, then continued towards them. "Doctor, get back!" Owen shouted, aiming his gun again.

The Doctor spun round at the sudden change in Owen's voice, eyes widening. "Don't you dare!" he shouted frantically. "Don't kill them; they're an _extremely_ endangered species!"

"Try telling them that as they bloody _maul_ you to death!" Owen shouted back, finger wavering on the trigger as he tried to find a clean shot that wouldn't involve also killing the Doctor.

And then the first of the Weevils crashed into the Doctor, knocking his trainer-clad feet out from under him. The Time Lord went flying with a cry of surprise, disappearing under the water. The Weevil remained above water, clawing and slashing through the brownish liquid while the others gathered around, growling and eyeing Owen to determine whether he was a threat or not.

"Doctor? Doctor!" Owen yelled, keeping the gun focused on the four crouched Weevils. He knew he couldn't risk shooting the attacking creature, because it was still atop the Doctor.

The Doctor's head burst through the water, along with his flailing arms, and he gasped as loudly as Jack coming back to life. His head stayed above water for about three seconds, then the Weevil savagely shoved him back under. A small cloud of crimson blood burst slowly to the surface, showing up much too well in the darkness.

"Owen! What the hell are you _doing_?" Jack shouted, sloshing around the corner at a run, gun drawn. Gwen was right behind him, looking horrified when she saw the frantic struggle between the Doctor and Weevil. Jack expertly aimed and fired as the remaining Weevils bounded towards them. One creature sank lifelessly into the water, as Gwen and Owen rapidly took care of the other two. The last one continued its attack on the flailing Doctor.

"I can't get a clean shot!" Owen looked urgently over at Jack, trying to get a hint of what he should do.

"Jack, you've got to _do_ something! That thing is going to kill him!" Gwen screamed, also aiming towards the final Weevil, though about as hesitant as Owen to fire.

Jack held his gun up grimly, brow drawing into a frown. "Not on my watch." He fired, and the bullet whizzed through the air. It hit its intended target head-on, and sent the Weevil flying backwards into the wall. It moaned wordlessly, clutching its injured arm, then turned and galloped back into the darkness, to wherever it had originally come from.

There were several seconds of silence, then the Doctor's body bobbed limply to the surface. His eyes were pressed closed, and his hair was plastered wetly to his face. Blood seeped steadily from the front of his suit, billowing into a small cloud in the water around his body.

"Oh my God!" Gwen gasped, recklessly shoving her gun into the waistband of her jeans and racing towards the apparently unconscious Doctor. She crouched beside him, feverishly brushing the hair back from his forehead and peering worriedly down at him. "Jack, Jack! What do I do?" she cried.

"Well, not much. If he's as lucky a man as he's told me he is, you won't have to see the Time Lord color show," Jack offered helpfully.

Owen, also putting his gun away, knelt beside Gwen. He pressed his hand to the Doctor's neck, brow furrowing with concentration. "He's still got a pulse; his heart's beating out of control," he reported.

"That's nothing much. He's got two hearts, you know," Jack explained offhandedly.

Owen froze. "Two what?" he asked.

"_Blimey_!" the Doctor exclaimed at the top of his lungs, suddenly exploding into a sitting position and sending droplets of water everywhere. Gwen gave a little scream, one hand flying to her throat, and Owen shouted wordlessly and fell backwards into the water.

Jack laughed, putting his hands on his hips. "Guess we're not in for a regeneration then, eh, Doctor?"

"Not tonight!" The Doctor leapt, though slightly unsteadily, to his feet. He shook his head like a dog, sending water from his drenched hair flying everywhere. "So, what happened? Did you–" He broke off when he saw the four dead Weevils floating in the murky water around him. He turned to look silently at Jack, disappointment very evident in his dark eyes.

"Well, we couldn't let them _kill_ you!" Jack exclaimed defensively, putting his gun away in one smooth movement.

"They only have the basic brains of animals. They were just doing what comes naturally to them," the Doctor said sadly, staring down at the bloody bodies. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he murmured, presumably to the dead Weevils.

"So you would have rather died, instead of us killing those Weevils?" Owen demanded, climbing up from the water and angrily brushing sour-smelling droplets of water from his sodden clothes.

A look of deep sadness crossed the Doctor's expressive face, one that none of the others missed. "Yeah, something like that," he said.

Gwen, trying to break the tension in the air, turned worriedly to Jack. "We need to get him back to the Hub. He's bleeding _everywhere_."

Jack turned his attention to the Doctor's wounds. "She's right, Doctor. We need to get back to Hub, and Owen will take care of bandaging you up."

"I'll be fine eventually," the Doctor replied offhandedly, currently staring intently down into the water. "But where's my sonic screwdriver? I think I've _lost_ it!"

Gwen reached out and touched a particularly deep cut on his left arm. "Eventually? After you bloody _bleed_ to death, you mean?"

The Doctor didn't seem to have even heard her. "Do any of you see it? It's about this long, and should be glowing blue on one end." He held his fingers a few inches apart, then thought better of it and lessened the distance a little.

"Gwen's right; you're not looking too good," Jack said, thinking about reaching out and touching the Doctor's shoulder but deciding better of it. "I know you're a high and mighty Time Lord and all that, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't stop the bleeding, Doctor."

Apparently ignoring him, the Doctor was crouched down where he had been attacked, running his hands through the water with loud sloshing sounds. "It can't have gotten far from here; I just had it half a second ago," he said absently.

"I have to agree. This sonic whatchamacallit can't be more important that your health," Owen said firmly, always a medic. "You can get a new one after we make sure that you aren't going to bleed to death. Jack would probably _kill_ me if you died."

"It has to be here somewhere…" the Doctor muttered, frowning as he continued running his hands through the water. "And you're already dead, remember?"

Owen looked as though he were bordering on the fine line between embarrassment and irritation. "Must have slipped my mind, but cheers for reminding me," he snapped. Folding his arms, he turned sharply to Jack. "I give up. He's a bleeding nutter, plain and simple."

"Yes! There you are, you _beauty_!" The Doctor happily plucked his screwdriver from the water, planting a kiss on it then grimacing with distaste. "Lucky I made it waterproof, eh?" He clambered by to his feet, brushing idly at the water and blood coating his suit. Then he carefully stowed his screwdriver back into a pocket.

"Okay, then," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "Problem solved, so let's head back to the Hub."

"Well, _he's_ riding on the roof," Owen muttered irritably, gesturing towards the Doctor without looking. "He'll bloody up the inside of the SUV."

"Well, I'm sure Ianto won't mind taking care of that problem if it arises," Jack said with false cheeriness. "Come on, you lot." He turned and sloshed away through the water, Gwen and the Doctor hurrying to catch up. Owen scowled thunderously at the Doctor's retreating back, then moved sullenly to catch up.

**

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Thanks for reading, and be sure to review if you get the time. :D


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N:** You guys are so great. Thanks for reviewing, and enjoy the update!

* * *

Chapter Four

Tosh looked up with surprise from her work station as the cog wheel door rolled suddenly aside. Jack jogged into the room, followed by Owen, Gwen, and finally the Doctor. The latter's previously tidy suit was caked in blood and filth, and he smelled rather like something that had been rolling round in a swamp.

"Jack, what _happened_?" she asked with concern.

"We got the Weevils taken care of," Jack answered nonchalantly, shrugging out of his coat. He looked around, evidently expecting Ianto to be there to take it from him as usual, but there was no sign of the Welshman. "Three dead and one wounded. The wounded one ran off into the sewers. Make sure to add that to the log when you finish up tonight."

Tosh nodded her assent, then gestured to her computer screen with one hand while taking off her glasses with the other. "I've been trying to dig up information about the Lohk, Jack, but there's nothing. True, there've been some unusual spikes in the Rift lately, but nothing that would really tell us anything."

"I've already told you all you need to know," the Doctor said pointedly, leaning around Jack to peer at the screen. "We need to be waiting when it shows up, then we can convince it to go along on its merry way. And if not…" He shrugged. "Well, I haven't exactly figured that part out yet, but I'm sure I'll come up with something."

"Any ideas yet on when _exactly_ it's scheduled to arrive?" Gwen asked, also examining the Rift diagram pictured onscreen. "We just know that it's going to show up sometime tomorrow, right?"

"Well, according to my calculations, a particularly big opening is scheduled for approximately six hours from now, at midnight. The location is around where that police box thing was earlier on the CCTV," Tosh reported.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Jack, who pretended not to notice, but didn't comment.

Owen walked over from where he had been taking off his jacket. "When you say big…"

"I mean massive," she clarified. "Off the _scales_."

"Doctor, I think you neglected to mention the size of this thing," Jack said accusingly, shifting his coat to another arm.

"Well, I said it was 'unimaginably enormous' didn't I?" the Doctor said. "What did you want me to say? 'This thing is bloody huge, about the size of two Earths crushed together into one, and it's coming to eat all you stupid apes'?"

"That's the Doctor I knew!" Jack exclaimed jovially, clapping the Time Lord on one shoulder. The others exchanged looks of confusion behind him, and the Doctor tactfully turned a blind eye to this. "And yes, that's about what I wanted you to say."

"Next time I'll be sure to elaborate." The Doctor suddenly clapped his hands together, making all of them jump. "Now! We need to prepare for this thing before it gets here, and I really need to come up with a plan for making it leave. Peacefully_, _remember."

"How are we supposed to get a thing that could eat this whole planet in one bite to leave _peacefully_?" Owen asked.

"Not one bite," the Doctor corrected him. "More like ten. Lohks like to start in the middle of a planet and nibble their way outwards."

"My point exactly," Owen said sourly.

"I'll take your coat, sir," came a polite voice from Jack's left. He turned and saw Ianto standing there, looking incredibly formal. His expression was stiff, and he meaningfully didn't look at the Doctor.

Jack handed over the coat, trying to find the right words. "Ianto, I don't want to you to be–"

"I'll be finishing with the mess in the lab if you need me, sir," Ianto interrupted, turning smartly and striding away. Jack stared after him for a few seconds, then tuned back into the conversation that the others were having.

"…for instance, Lohks are highly allergic to salt," the Doctor was explaining. "So if we just wave about…three tons of table salt in the air as it comes out of the Rift, maybe it'll turn tail and do a runner, eh?" He wiggled both eyebrows, obviously expecting them to be amazed with his brilliant plan.

"So let me get this straight," Owen said incredulously. "Your plan is to collect the salt shakers from every single person in Cardiff, pour their contents into a swimming pool, then use a forklift to hold it under the Lohk's nose as it comes out of the Rift."

The Doctor looked musing, then nodded. "'Bout sums it up, yeah."

"Bleeding nutter," Owen said.

"I might be wrong, but I don't think that Tesco's carries three-ton bags of salt," Gwen said tactfully, shooting Torchwood's medic a glare. He was rather right about the Doctor being a nutter, but he actually wasn't _so_ bad. And besides, he had only just been attacked by a Weevil. He wasn't really in the condition to be picked on right at that moment.

"Then we'll have to buy as much of it as we can and make do with it," Jack said, at the same time trying to get his mind off Ianto. His cell phone rang, and he fumbled in his pocket for a moment before pulling it out to study the small screen. "It's the Prime Minister," he muttered petulantly. "Damn it; I forgot about the conference call I was supposed to have with him and UNIT tonight."

Gwen's cell phone also chose that moment to ring, and she pulled it from her jacket pocket. "It's a text from Rhys. He wants to know if I'm coming home tonight." She looked to Jack, waiting for his reaction.

Jack, looking frazzled, glanced down at the still-ringing phone clutched in his hand. "Fine. Gwen, you head home. Just be sure you're back by midnight."

She nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Jack."

"Owen, you take Ianto and the Doctor to Tesco's and buy as much salt as you can."

"_What_?" Owen exclaimed, looking outraged. "What if _I_ want to head home for a while?"

Jack didn't exactly look sympathetic. "That's too damn bad. And Tosh, I think there are still a few of those Grimfordla files that need decoding."

"I'll get right to it," she replied.

"All right. Don't know how long this is going to take, but I'll try to get rid of him by midnight," Jack told them, pressing send and raising the phone to his ear. "Harkness." He strode towards his office, voice fading from the others' hearing as he politely greeted the Prime Minister.

"Right, then!" The Doctor looked eager, grinning madly at each of them in turn. "Who's ready for a trip to Tesco's? I love Tesco's, me. Used to go there all the time with Ro – a friend of mine." He abruptly cleared his throat, changing the subject. "Anyway, I'll need to stop by the TARDIS for a quick change of clothes. Can't exactly go in looking like this, can I?" He gestured down at his tattered suit and coat. Miraculously, his coat looked like it had taken a lesser amount of destruction.

Owen turned to Tosh, his expression pleading. "Want to trade? I have no bleeding idea how to translate documents, but I'm willing to give it a go."

Gwen laughed, shaking her head. "You are hopeless, Owen Harper."

* * *

"Okay, this is it." The Doctor pointed excitedly out the passenger seat window of the SUV. "There she is, my TARDIS. Beautiful, isn't she?"

"_That's_ your spaceship?" Owen said, putting the SUV in park before the blue phone box.

The Doctor turned to look at him, using his best wounded little boy expression. "Yes. And it's–"

"Bigger on the inside, yeah," Owen said impatiently, opening his door and climbing out. "We know. You've already told us that bit."

The Doctor and Ianto both climbed out, the former trying not to notice the latter's alarmingly blank expression. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out the TARDIS key, striding over and inserting it into the scratched lock. With a small grin, he pulled it outward and leapt over the threshold. Then he turned round and invitingly held his arms out as the other men entered.

"Bloody hell!" Owen managed, brown eyes almost comically huge. "It's…it's…"

"Bigger on the inside," Ianto said calmly, hiding his own shock at seeing the interior of the wooden phone box. He carefully closed the door, thinking that it would be best not to have a stray dog wander in.

The Doctor dropped his arms, looking deflated at Ianto's alleged lack of enthusiasm. His favorite part of showing humans his TARDIS was their startled exclamations and shocked expressions when they saw the inside of the ship crammed nonsensically into the outer shell. At least Owen hadn't disappointed; the deceased medic was now wordlessly glancing around himself.

"Okay, you two stay here. I'm going to pop down and change. I'll only be a few ticks." He disappeared through a doorway on the opposite side of the room, then suddenly reappeared. "_Don't_ touch anything." And then he was gone again.

"Bloody hell," Owen echoed himself, sagging limply against the softly glowing control console.

"Tosh should have come," Ianto said, looking with mild interest at the strange, curling symbols scrolling across a small screen. "She would have loved this."

"Yeah, well she's apparently pretty busy with _decoding Gradformia files_," he muttered, obviously irritated that she had managed, for a second time, to avoid traveling with the Doctor.

"I believe," Ianto said with a small smirk, "that Jack said Tosh is currently decoding _Grimfordla_ files."

"Yeah, whatever, teaboy." Owen scowled, obviously trying to think of a decent comeback. "Well, you _would_ know everything Harkness says. You've probably got every word scribbled in that little diary of yours."

Ianto visibly bristled. "How did you know about that?"

The medic sneered, sensing that he had finally struck a nerve. "I might have found it lying around somewhere," he leered. "You should keep your _private_ things better hidden, Jones. Oh, and...you're wrong about the uses of a stopwatch."

Ianto's face had become quite red with anger. He took a step towards Owen, uncharacteristically thinking of taking a swing at him. Who cared if his broken nose wouldn't knit back together? He bloody well deserved it!

But at that moment, the Doctor popped back into the room, wearing a suit nearly identical to the one he had previously been wearing. The only difference was that it wasn't covered in dried blood and filth. "Now, now. No blood spilled in the TARDIS, you hear?" he said sternly, shrugging into his coat once more. "Calm down, both of you. You're almost as bad as Mickey and Jack, honestly."

Both men stared back at the Doctor. "Who's Mickey?" Owen asked suspiciously.

"Who's ready to get to Tesco's?" The Doctor grinned eagerly, smoothly changing the subject. He rubbed his hands together and started for the door, forcing the others to follow. "I hope they've still got a good supply of bananas in. Not as good as ginger tea, mind you, but close enough."

* * *

"I never knew there were so many brands of salt. Blimey." The Doctor, both hands stuffed into his pockets, rocked back on his heels and stared up at the seemingly endless shelves before him.

"Do we have to purchase a certain kind?" Ianto inquired of him.

"No, not really. We just need quite a lot of it, enough to scare the Lohk off."

"Well, then. Quit standing round." Owen, who had been placed in charge of the shopping cart, leaned around them and started randomly scooping bags and boxes of salt into the cart. He ignored the look that a woman walking past gave him, not stopping until every single box of salt had been placed in the basket. "Well, _Doctor_. Is that good enough for you?" he asked condescendingly.

The Doctor had a strange look on his face, seeming almost sheepish. "Yes. Yes, I think that'll do," he answered vaguely, turning and wandering towards the front with both hands stuffed in his pockets. Ianto thought he heard him mumbling something about how he liked his corpses to be completely dead, not smacking their gobs back at him, but tactfully pretended not to hear.

At the front counter, Ianto smartly pulled a credit card from his pocket and paid for the salt. The cashier gave them some strange looks to say the least, but none of the three men felt compelled to explain why exactly they needed the salt.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Owen asked. He was still pushing the cart, which was overflowing with salt. The cashier hadn't bothered to sack it up, as it would have taken too long, and other people were waiting in queue to be checked out. She had even given them a discount, probably since they had brought every box of salt the store had had in stock. "Go back inside and buy a swimming pool to put all this in?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck as they walked towards the SUV. It was getting dark out, and lights sparkled coldly all across the large city. "I'm not entirely _sure_," he admitted. "I was hoping we could just sprinkle it all around where the Lohk will be emerging from the Rift, and then I could increase its material frequencies with my sonic screwdriver and scare it off."

"_Not_ the bleeding screwdriver again," Owen muttered sourly, pulling the keys out of his pocket and pressing a button to unlock the SUV. He opened the hatchback, then started loading all the little boxes and bags of salt. Ianto began helping him, while the Doctor gazed vacantly into the distance.

"There's something out there, something…aquatic," he murmured vaguely to no one in particular. "My teeth are itching, which doesn't really happen that often. Well, I _say_ not often…"

Owen's only response was a snort.

Ianto, closing the hatchback of the SUV, activated his communicator as it beeped shrilly into his ear. "Jack?"

"Just wondering how you guys were getting on. I finally got rid of the Prime Minister; apparently he wasn't in a very talkative mood tonight," the captain said, a smirk obvious in his voice.

"We're doing just _wonderful_, Harkness," Owen replied sardonically. "We practically bought out the whole bloody store."

"The government-funded credit card really came in handy, sir," Ianto added.

Jack chuckled, disregarding Owen's annoyed comment. "Well, that's what it's for. But won't they get a kick out of it when they see we used it to buy a bunch of salt."

"Seriously, my teeth are _really_ starting to itch now. _Blimey_." The Doctor rotated his jaw, rubbing it probingly with one hand. "Haven't felt anything this strong in _ages_."

"Anyway, come on back to the Hub. You ordered meat feast pizza again tonight, right, Ianto?"

"Yes, sir. Should be arriving…" Ianto pulled out his stopwatch and glanced at it, "…in about ten minutes. I made sure to request an extra box, just in case." He glanced at the Doctor, who was looking up at the sky and rubbing the back of his neck. "Wasn't sure how much your friend would eat." Even at the mention of his name, the Doctor didn't look over.

"Good thinking, Ianto. See you three back here in ten." Jack signed off with a quiet buzz of static.

Owen was staring at the stopwatch, which Ianto tucked quickly back into his pocket. "What?" he asked defensively, Welsh accent even more pronounced than usual.

"I remember reading about _that_ in the diary…" Owen leered an obvious innuendo at him.

Ianto didn't give him the honor of a response, instead turning round to face their strangely-silent companion. "Doctor, are you ready to head back to the–"

"Look out!" The Doctor suddenly flattened Ianto to the ground, rolling both of them to one side. Seconds later, a red convertible sped past at a highly illegal speed, very nearly running into both Owen and the SUV.

"What the hell?" Owen picked himself up from the ground, quickly sparing a glance down at his body to see if anything was broken. When he didn't see his amputated leg lying in a pool of blood across the parking lot, he felt immensely reassured. "Was it just me, or was that a _blowfish_?"

Ianto nodded briefly at the Doctor to thank him for saving his life, then stood and straightened his suit. It still remained impeccable, except for a small mark of dust across his tie. "It wasn't just you. And it was driving a red sports car," he said without cracking a smile.

"Why couldn't it be, I don't know, _blue_ for a change?" Owen wondered, brushing dirt from his leather jacket.

"I dunno. But he's getting away," Ianto said.

The Doctor glanced back and forth between the two of them. "I take it you two are familiar with humanoid blowfish driving sports cars?" he asked with bewilderment.

"Yeah. Been there, done that," Owen said, walking around to get into the driver's seat.

"Got the brochure," Ianto added helpfully, also getting into the front seat.

The Doctor pulled open one of the rear doors and leapt energetically inside. "Oh, so you'll believe in blowfish driving sports cars, but not a replica of the _Titanic_ nearly crashing into Buckingham Palace?"

"I heard about that," Ianto mused as Owen backed the SUV from its parking slot and tore off after the blowfish. "It sounded like some sort of scam. Maybe people were drugged with something in the water supply."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, leaning forward to peer out the front windshield. "I think he knows we're following him," he noted, as the blowfish pulled out a gun and aimed it recklessly over his shoulder. He yelped and toppled over into the floorboard as Owen jerked the wheel roughly to one side to avoid the bullet. It pinged off the left side of the car, not doing much damage.

"Ianto, take the wheel." Owen was already letting it go, pulling out his gun.

"Oh, not this again!" Ianto exclaimed with exasperation, leaning over and grabbing the steering wheel. "I take it that Gwen's lecture the last time you did this didn't really make it through?"

Owen rolled down the window without answering, then leaned out. The Doctor watched with interest as he took aim and shot out the two back tires, all the while somehow managing to avoid getting shot himself. Then he reeled his body back in and took the wheel from Ianto again. "Worked last time, and it worked this time," he said proudly.

Ianto simply raised his eyebrows, pulling out his own gun and cocking it. "Don't forget, last time the blowfish took a hostage after you blew out his tires."

The smirk slid from Owen's face.

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	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N:** As always, thanks to those who reviewed. :D

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Chapter Five

The cog wheel door rolled aside, Owen and Ianto stumbling inside. Owen was walking backwards, holding the unconscious blowfish's shoulders. Ianto was taking care of his legs and feet. The Doctor was strolling along casually behind them, arms full of the large box they had filled with salt. He was fairly beaming, pleased with his success in convincing them not to shot the blowfish between the eyes. Instead, he had used his sonic screwdriver to stun it.

Toshiko stared at them. "What happened?" she asked tiredly. "Caught stealing another red sports car?"

"Right you are," Ianto grunted, trying not to lose his grip on the blowfish's slippery legs. "He was headed right through the middle of Cardiff; nearly ran us down when we were in the Tesco's parking lot. And Owen says he's been dosing himself on cocaine like the last one."

Tosh simply shook her head. "Will they never learn? But as long as none of Jack's _friends_ are using him as a right-hand man this time, I don't really care." She turned back to her computer, fingers skating feverishly over the keys as she allegedly continued translating documents.

Jack poked his head out of the corridor, bringing with him the smell of fresh pizza. "It's about time you guys got back! Pizza's starting to get…cold…" He watched as Owen and Ianto moved slowly past him, still holding the blowfish and headed for the cells. He turned round to face the Doctor. "What have you three been up to?" he asked accusingly.

The Doctor glanced around, then finally decided to place the box on top of Owen's workstation. He didn't think the medic would really notice, since it was already covered with just about everything else besides the kitchen sink. "Well, we stopped by the TARDIS and I got a change of clothes. Obviously. Then we went to Tesco's and got the salt. Then we saw that blowfish driving a stolen car and had a high-speed chase with it, involving Owen leaning out and shooting the other car's tires. And _then_ I stunned it with my sonic screwdriver, and we came back here." The Doctor wiped his hands vigorously against the sides of his pants, trying to make sure that no grains of salt clung to the skin.

"Hmmm. Busy day for you, huh, Doctor?" Jack grinned, slapping him on the shoulder. "Now whadda you say we head back to the meeting room and have some pizza?"

The Doctor nodded suspiciously. "You don't happen to have any bananas in, do you? I love bananas, me. Once, I even went to a planet where bananas grew out of people's ears. Now _that_ was a–"

"Yeah, I know," Jack interrupted indulgently. "Already taken care of, Doc. Right this way." He took the Doctor's arm and guided him off towards the meeting room. "We've even got a little surprise for you. Someone's decided to stop in and say hi."

"Who?" the Doctor asked warily. "The last time I had a surprise guest, I ended up with pink hair and a pair of _carrots_ poking out of my ears. This was about four hundred years ago, mind you, but I remember it pretty well all the same." By this time, the two of them had reached the meeting room. Jack lead the way inside, then turned to see the Doctor's reaction.

"Doctor!" Martha Jones stood up from her seat, beaming as she laid eyes on the Time Lord. "It's _so_ good to see you!"

The Doctor's face broke into a lip-splitting grin, and he met her halfway to the table, spinning her round in a huge hug. "Martha Jones! What are _you_ doing here? It hasn't actually been that long since we've…I mean, great to see you, too! _Blimey_, it's been a while!" He put her down, awkwardly stuffing both hands into his pockets in a futile effort to maintain his nonchalance.

Jack, eyebrows raised, exchanged a look with Martha over the Doctor's shoulder. Neither of them had missed his little slip of the tongue. "Well, I thought that Martha wouldn't take too kindly to missing the party, Doc," he explained. "And we've still got several hours left until our little friend is scheduled to arrive. So I thought we could spend the time, you know, catching up! Besides, Miss Martha here hasn't seen you since the Year That Never–" He broke off as Tosh, Owen, and Ianto entered the room. "Well, you know what I mean," he finished hurriedly.

"Martha!" Tosh broke off from the argument she had apparently been having with Owen, smiling pleasantly. "I didn't see you come in!"

"Jack brought me in the back way. He wanted me to be a _surprise_." Martha rolled her eyes heavenward.

"Great to see you, Martha." Owen then proceeded to give her an enthusiastic hug that lasted perhaps a few seconds longer than it should have.

"Oi!" Jack said.

Martha pulled away from Owen, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm engaged. _Remember_, Doctor Harper?"

Owen muttered something unintelligible under his breath, looking morose.

"Let's eat, shall we? The pizza's starting to get cold," Ianto reminded them, pulling a large white napkin that was almost the size of a tablecloth from seemingly out of nowhere. He cleverly tucked it into his collar before taking a seat.

The others all sat down as well, Jack this time claiming the chair at the head of the table before the Doctor could. Martha made sure to sit down between the two of them, though Owen looked slightly disappointed when he had to settle for sitting between Tosh and Ianto.

"So how are you lot getting along here?" Martha asked, helping herself to a slice of pizza. "Haven't heard much about you in the government grapevine lately."

Jack nodded briskly. "Good. That's the way we've intended it to be. We are supposed to be a _secret_ organization, remember?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "Yeah, and you've pulled _that_ off nicely."

Owen, who had been regretfully watching the rest of them eat, moved his attention back to Martha. "Oi, Jones. Don't insult Jack's skills of blending in. We all know that he does that _so_ well, with that World War Two coat of his." He smirked when Jack mimed throwing a plate at him.

"You're engaged?" The Doctor was still stuck on that earlier comment. He blinked, recalling that time he and Donna had stopped by to help with the Sontarans, when Martha had flashed her diamond engagement ring. Not that it had happened to her yet, of course. "Oh, that's right. Milligan, wasn't it?"

Martha just stared at him. "Actually, it's Mickey."

The Doctor, who had been reaching for a bowl in which Ianto had earlier deposited several peeled bananas, froze. "Mickey who?"

His ex-companion smiled sweetly at his confusion. "Mickey Smith."

Jack choked on a bite of pizza, causing Ianto to pound him on the back for several seconds before he could breathe again. "My _God_, Martha! You're engaged to Mickey the _idiot_?" he demanded, eyes becoming wide with horror.

The Doctor looked downright grim. "I don't believe it," he muttered darkly. "How could you possibly-" Then he brightened, eyes regaining their usual shine. "I need a new brain, because this one's getting _tired_! In this version of the timeline, Mickey hasn't come back from Pete's World yet! Well, he has for _me_, but not for _you_! So it's _impossible_!" He grinned, grabbing a slice of banana and popping it into his mouth.

Martha and Jack traded another significant look, while the others just looked mystified. "You're right," she said finally, clearing her throat as she tried to figure out just what exactly was going on with the Doctor. "Never met him before, remember, Doctor? I've heard you talking about him when we were, um, _traveling_ together, so I thought it was worth a try. Besides, didn't you say once that he was on a parallel Earth?"

The Doctor rubbed his forehead, squeezing his eyes closed as he tried to think. "Blimey, I hate this continuity stuff," he mumbled tiredly. "Yes. Yes, that's right!" he exclaimed finally. "Mickey's on a parallel Earth. _Silly_ me! Must have forgotten." He popped another slice of banana into his mouth as he finally stopped talking.

At this, Owen pushed back his chair from the table. "Well, not that this isn't _highly_ entertaining, but I think I'll go water some of the plants. The Fulgonnian waterdancer needs plenty of H2O, as I'm sure you all know."

Tosh looked eager, also pushing back her chair. "I'll go with you," she said.

"Whatever, Tosh. Just don't trod all over the vines of the Gleafadon like you did last time." Owen saluted Martha, then jogged out of the room, Tosh right on his heels.

Martha leaned back in her chair. "Can't he see that she has feelings for him?" she mused aloud.

The Doctor's eyes widened, and he quickly glanced at the doorway from where the pair had just exited. "_Really_?" he asked incredulously.

Jack rolled his eyes. "_Speaking_ of clueless, _Doctor_…"

Ianto now stood, carefully removing his large napkin. He neatly wiped his hands against the white fabric, to avoid getting grease smears on his immaculate suit. "I think I'll retire down to the archives for an hour or so, sir," he directed at Jack. "Some of the untouchable section needs a little work."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Don't forget to wear the safety gloves, Ianto. I think Owen moved them into his lab for some reason."

"Right, sir. Wouldn't want to break out in Martian spacepox," Ianto granted, nodding and smiling in Martha's direction one last time before hurrying from the room.

"So, kids. What should we do now?" Jack reclined in his chair, looking from the Doctor to Martha and back again.

"I'm not technically a _kid_, Jack," the Doctor felt inclined to mention. "I'm over nine hundred years old."

"Yeah, whatever," Jack replied flippantly. "I never did finish showing you around, did I, Martha? I don't think we ever made it to the vaults during your official tour of the Hub."

Martha shook her head, frowning slightly. "Nope, I don't think so. We got distracted when Owen used the singularity scalpel to blow something up and give poor Ianto heart failure." She laughed at the memory.

The Doctor leapt to his feet, stuffing a few spare slices of banana into his coat pocket for later. "You never gave _me_ an official tour, Jack," he said.

"Not the _puppy dog eyes_!" Jack howled with anguish, throwing one arm over his eyes in mock terror. "Doc_tor_!"

Martha laughed, standing and brushing her hands against the sides of her jeans. "You two are _insufferable_!" she told them sternly, trying to cover her laughter. "All right, show us the vaults then, Jack."

"Okay, ladies and gents. Right this way, and step lively." Jack started off down the corridor outside the meeting room, Martha and the Doctor hurrying to catch up.

"So what's this about a…Look? Jack mentioned it casually, but didn't tell me much," Martha said curiously.

"Lohk," the Doctor corrected her. "And it's a massive alien that intends to come to Earth and devour it whole."

"Ah. Just like old times, then."

The Doctor grinned. "Just like old times."

Martha hesitated, glancing towards Jack. The mentioned was strolling on ahead of them, loudly whistling a cheery show tune. "So, Doctor…what part of the timeline are you from? Jack's told me that you've made some…interesting remarks," she said quietly.

The Doctor swallowed hard, caught off guard. "Er…what exactly has he said that I've said?" he asked quickly. "You know Jack, always making something of nothing." He pretended to avidly study a framed photo of a mirrored box as they passed.

"I'm _serious_, Doctor," she said, coming to a sudden halt. "You're in your own past, aren't you? And you don't have a new companion yet. So does this mean…did she die? Or did you take an old companion along for the ride and end up losing them?"

The Doctor looked her intensely in the eye. "No one died, Martha. Everyone's safe at home. Where they're _supposed_ to be," he said fiercely, thinking of Donna. He pictured her as he'd seen her last, talking about pointless rubbish on her mobile as he said goodbye for the last time. And she hadn't even cared.

Martha nodded slowly, believing him. "But you didn't answer my first question, Doctor. Are you from our future or not?"

"I can't tell you, Martha," the Doctor said gravely, trying his best to sound convincing. "It would cause a paradox so huge that seven universes would shatter in on themselves. And that would be bad. _Very_ bad."

Jack, who had tactfully been pretending not to listen, chose that moment to clear his throat. "I was thinking. Let's not go to the vaults right now. We could try out that new Wii Tosh installed last week instead."

"A…Wii?" The Doctor blinked confusedly, trying to draw his mind back into the present. "I picked one of those up from the forty-fifth century once, though I never did use it. Piece of rubbish."

"_You've never played_ _Guitar Hero_?" Jack cried with mock dismay. "Then you've never _lived_, Doctor! Go on then, _shift_!" He urged the bewildered Doctor back the way they'd come, Martha following with a slight frown on her face.

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	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N: **There's a couple of obscure references to _The Waters of Mars_ in this chapter, just so you know. And thanks so much for reviewing! :D

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Chapter Six

Gwen walked into the Hub at eleven o'clock, closing her mobile and slipping it away into her jeans pocket. Rhys had called her right when she'd walked in, asking if she wanted him to wash her whites; he'd forgotten that she'd told him they were out of detergent.

She had been expecting the others to be hard at work, determining various ways to stop this Lohk creature when it finally came through the Rift in approximately an hour. She couldn't have been more surprised at what she actually found.

Owen and the Doctor were playing Guitar Hero, long bunches of wires snaking from the medic's workstation. Someone, allegedly Ianto, had suspended a white sheet from the ceiling, and the game was being transmitted onto the lightly waving surface of the sheet. Tosh, Jack, Ianto, and none other than Martha Jones were laughing and cheering the Doctor on.

"Hi, guys. And Martha, it's good to see you again." Gwen put her bag down on one of the workstations, walking over to join the others. She folded her arms, subtly checking out the scores pictured onscreen. The Doctor was winning.

"It's good to see you too, Gwen. It's been a while," Martha said.

"So what's going on here, then? Guitar Hero?" she asked incredulously.

Jack grinned at her. "The Doctor's beating Owen," he said jubilantly. "And _you_ said you've never played before." He directed this to the Doctor, whose boyish features were frazzled.

"Er…I haven't. Only once or twice. Maybe three times…" The Doctor's voice absently trailed off as he concentrated whole-heartedly on the game.

Tosh glanced at her watch. "They've been playing since nine o'clock," she told Gwen. "Jack and Martha have already lost."

"Guitar Hero isn't really my cup of tea," Martha admitted with a shrug. "Not since _someone_ took me to a rock concert that involved assimilating aliens mucking about."

The Doctor pulled a face, still squinting at the sheet that the game was being projected to. "Welllll, they weren't really _aliens_. More like crossbred Bulgarnian lower life forms. And they weren't actually _assimilating_. More like…dissolving their victims. But it's a common mistake, so don't feel bad." He grimaced at the makeshift screen.

"I once had a similar experience with the Doctor, though he was a completely different man," Jack said. "It involved Elvis and Mecklionon creatures."

Owen shot a speculative glance at the Doctor. "Wait a minute, Harkness. Are you telling me that he's like…you?"

"Oh, I'm a unique specimen, Doctor Harper," Jack said pleasantly.

"Then what's with this nonsense about Elvis? He doesn't look _that_ old."

Jack took 'he' to mean the Doctor. "Oh, you'd be surprised," he replied.

Martha suppressed a smile.

"Brilliant!" The Doctor dropped his guitar, beaming madly. Martha and Tosh applauded, while Ianto clapped politely.

"Bollocks!" Owen cursed, angrily throwing down his own guitar as he realized that he'd lost the game. "That's _bollocks_!" He stomped over to his work station and began yanking out cords.

Gwen stifled a laugh. "Not that seeing Owen's arse handed to him on a silver platter isn't amusing, but haven't we got some _work_ to do?" she added meaningfully. "We've still got the Lohk coming at midnight, haven't we?"

"She's right," Jack informed the others. "All right, playtime's over, kids. We've got things to do and aliens to stop."

"I'll go prep the SUV," Ianto said, taking the box of salt and walking towards the cog wheel door. It rolled aside, gate opening and lights flashing, then he disappeared down the cavernous tunnel.

Jack smirked, turning to the Torchwood medic. "Okay, Owen. If you're done having your little temper tantrum, we need the weapons kits prepared."

Owen nodded sullenly. Shooting the Doctor – who waved merrily – a brooding look, he hurried to do as the captain said.

"And Tosh, check the readings to verify where our little friend is coming out to visit. Also check the time, so we won't be caught by surprise if he decides to show up early."

She nodded, hurrying away towards her computer. "I'm on it," she called over her shoulder.

"I'll go help Owen with the weapons," Gwen decided. "He might accidentally shoot himself in the foot trying to get everything together, angry as he is." She jogged out of the room, without waiting for Jack's response.

"Don't forget what I said earlier, Jack." The Doctor, with both hands stuffed in his pockets, still managed to look vaguely threatening. Martha recognized the Oncoming Storm brewing in his dark eyes, and shivered despite herself. "We're going to do our best to settle this _peacefully_. Lohks can't help what they are, anymore than you or Owen can. Or even me." His expression was shadowed, almost haunted.

Jack nodded shortly. "I haven't forgotten, Doctor. But Lohks didn't get to be one of the most feared races in the universe for nothing. If this thing goes after one of my team, I'm taking it down." Then he turned and strode to his office.

Martha stared after him, frowning slightly.

"Well, that just leaves the two of us, then." The Doctor was abruptly cheerful again, drawing her attention back to him. "I never asked. How's your, er, family doing?"

Martha shuddered slightly at the memories that surfaced with his words, a man's maniacal laughter ringing in her ears. "Good as can be expected. Leo's a bit put out with the rest of us. He was the only one of the family who wasn't aboard the _Valiant_, so he of course doesn't remember anything. Tish is staying away from any political campaigning. And Mum and Dad…well, let's just say we're not going to have to worry about another Annalise anytime soon."

The Doctor grinned. "That's brilliant, that is. Everything turned out okay in the end, didn't it?"

Martha heaved a sigh. "Eventually. But sometimes I slip up, Doctor. I mention someone who died protecting me, or see someone I used to know on the street. And they have _no_ idea who I am."

The Doctor's enthusiastic smile slipped. "Would you rather have…forgotten?" he asked quietly.

"No," she said, firmly.

The Doctor ran one hand through his hair. "But think about it, Martha. If you'd never met _me_, then none of that ever would have happened to you. Or your family. If the Royal Hope had never been taken, then we never would have met."

Martha grabbed his arm. "Doctor, what's _wrong_ with you? The Doctor _I _knew never would have even _considered_ changing history."

The Doctor visibly shook himself. "Right. Sorry. I…had something happen to me recently. Someone...she left. Had to. There was no choice for either of us. Kind of changed my perspective on a lot of things. Made me realize just how far I'd go to change things." He swallowed hard, thinking of Donna.

Martha held his arm even tighter. "Doctor, you can tell me. How far in the future are you from? And what happened to make you like this?"

The Doctor hesitated, an intense mental struggle going on inside him. Finally, he said, "I lost someone who was close to me, Martha. And I can't get her back."

The infamous Rose immediately came to Martha's mind, along with millions of possible scenarios. "But–"

"Jack? Everything still seems the same," Tosh called suddenly from across the Hub, directing her words to someone behind the Doctor and Martha. "The Lohk is still coming from out of the Rift at approximately midnight."

The Doctor and Martha turned towards where she was looking, and for the first time noticed Jack standing outside his office, having shrugged into his coat and strapped on his pistol. Some unreadable expression was on his face, though it vanished after a few seconds. "Okay, Tosh. Finish up there, then get ready to head out," he said, never taking his eyes from the Doctor's face. "Owen and Gwen should be about ready by now."

The Doctor slowly turned away, facing Martha again. "Just remember something for me, yeah?" he said quietly, as though they'd never been interrupted. "Be careful with anything created by a bloke named Osterhagen, all right?"

Martha nodded warily, sensing that she'd lost him. He wasn't going to tell her anything else, that much was obvious.

"Okay, Jack. We've got everything ready." Gwen and Owen walked in at that moment, each carrying a large bag that was presumably filled with high-tech weaponry.

"Ianto should be finished with the SUV, so let's go join him." Jack stepped down to the main level of the Hub, exchanging a vital look with Martha. He's heard everything she and the Doctor had said.

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It was nearing midnight as the Torchwood SUV pulled up beside the TARDIS. Jack and Owen climbed out of the front, while Ianto and Tosh got out of the middle. The Doctor and Martha were the last to emerge, having been seated in the very last seats.

"Okay, Tosh. Where's the alleged entry point?" Jack asked, deliberately not getting out his gun. The others followed his example.

Tosh looked up from the compact device she held in her hand, which seemed to do a bit of everything. "Right over there, somewhere to the left of that…box thing."

"It's bigger on the inside," Ianto said, though no one seemed to be listening.

The Doctor nodded in reply to Tosh's statement. "Let me just pop in and check the TARDIS scanners, make sure the Rift frequencies are locked. Wouldn't want them to change at the last minute and send the Lohk somewhere else, eh?"

Tosh looked alarmed, freezing on the spot. "The Rift can do that?" Her eyes were wide.

"Yup. Correctamundo." It was the Doctor's turn to go still. "There I go again. Blimey, I've _got_ to remember to stop _saying_ that!" he said, seemingly to himself. He turned and hurried towards the TARDIS, digging in one pocket for his key.

Unlocking the door, he bounded inside and rushed over to the console. He hurried round it, pressing buttons and pulling levers. He didn't notice that he'd been followed until Martha said admiringly, "You never change a thing in here, do you?"

"Nope. Try not to, in fact," he said, not removing his watchful gaze from the console. And yet he somehow knew when Martha opened her mouth to speak again, quickly blurting out, "Hmmm, how strange. The vibrations of the Rift storm are changing. Blimey, haven't seen anything like that in, oh, two hundred years?" He scratched his head, brow creasing with confusion.

"What does it mean, Doctor?" Martha asked patiently. She was used to random bursts of speech, from her time as his companion.

"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "But it's not good. At least, not _very_ good. It means that the TARDIS scanners could have been, er, _wrong_."

Martha frowned at him. "Wrong how?"

The Doctor looked awkward. "As in, whatever's coming out of the Rift in approximately one and a half minutes, it _might_ not be a Lohk."

"Then what _is_ coming out?" Martha asked, startled.

The Doctor shook his head slowly. "I don't know. But it's not good." His eyes widened as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Come on, we'd better tell the others!" He raced out of the TARDIS, coat flying behind him as he nearly knocked Martha over.

She sighed, shaking her head, then followed.

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	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N: **Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone. They made my _week_! *grins*

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Chapter Seven

As the Doctor and Martha hurried out of the TARDIS, Martha slamming the door behind herself out of habit, they found the Torchwood team grouped together just a few feet away. Ianto and Gwen were artfully sprinkling salt across the pavement, while Jack watched silently. Owen was in the process of making some sarcastic comment. Tosh studied the screen of her small scanner device. "Approximately one minute until the Rift opening," she reported.

"Doctor? What is it?" Jack was the only one who had noticed the Time Lord practically flying out of the TARDIS, but the others looked up at the tension in his words.

The Doctor skidded to a stop beside Tosh, trainers squealing softly against the concrete. "Blimey, I hate to tell you this. Really, I do. It's going to _completely_ ruin my reputation of brilliance…" He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"What's wrong?" Gwen asked, straightening from her stooped position. She rubbed her hands against the sides of her jeans, dislodging the tiny particles of salt that clung to her palms.

"Welllll, I don't _think_ it's the TARDIS scanners kicking up a fuss, which actually happens quite often. And if I'm right, then I've miscalculated the frequencies and the mass of the size of the entity presently propelling its way through the Rift."

Owen blinked. "And in normal English that we simple deceased humans can understand..."

"I was wrong. About the creature coming through the Rift. It's, er, not a Lohk."

Jack's shoulders went rigid. "_What_?" he demanded, stunned. "If it's not a Lohk, then what the hell is it?"

"Um…I'm not entirely sure. Well, I _say_ not sure…actually, I have a _vague_ idea of the life form coming through. And it's not good."

Gwen looked to Jack for guidance. "Are we going to need our weapons for this one or not?" she asked uncertainly.

Ianto looked up from the pocket watch he'd slipped out of his coat pocket. "We're going to find out in around…thirty seconds," he said.

"Tosh, Gwen. Get the weapons kits from the car. _Now_!" Jack raised his voice significantly on the last word to show the seriousness of the situation. Both women turned and raced towards the SUV.

Owen didn't even turn around to appreciate the sight of them running, focusing instead of the white glow that was forming before them. Transparent wings the length of his body, tipped with glistening claws, formed. With them came a thick, leathery body covered erratically in scales. Slowly, the creature continued to form inside the white light. "Shit," he breathed, then hurriedly began fumbling for the gun attached to his belt.

Jack reached out and roughly grabbed Ianto by the shoulders, pulling him away from the forming creature. The Welshman stumbled, barely managing to regain his balance in time.

Martha swallowed hard, unable to tear her gaze away as the translucent body slowly become darker and darker, materializing into this reality. "Doctor?" she whispered, subconsciously hoping for some explanation about how the creature wasn't really that dangerous. Just a lost soul needing help back to their planet or some such gibberish.

Unfortunately, the Doctor's expression said otherwise.

He was staring directly at the structure of the alien as it continued to form, forehead puckered with a frown. "Oh, this is _bad_," he muttered to no one in particular, rubbing his jaw without taking his eyes from the creature.

Owen paused in the preparations of his gun. "How bad?"

"Think bad and add another ten suitcases of bad, with a sprinkling of bad on top of it all. Oh, and don't forget the other seven scoops of bad over that."

"Oh. Right."

The creature's eyes were crimson, shining from the fading white light like new blood. "Doctor, what _is_ this thing?" Jack exclaimed, reaching for his pistol and cocking it. He didn't recognize the creature, even with all his Time Agent knowledge, which meant it couldn't be good.

The Doctor swallowed hard, throat working. "A Thredanian. It's a Thredanian," he said thickly.

The captain stared incredulously, something stirring in the depths of his memory. "A what?"

"Jack!" came Gwen's shout from behind the rest of them. "Jack, look out!" She apparantly felt the urge to inform the rest of them of the danger they were in. But there was really no need, because they already knew.

The blaze from the Rift portal vanished, leaving behind only the creature. It looked nightmarish, skin brown and wrinkled like well-worn leather. Owen's calculations of the size of its massive wings had been correct, and its face was warped grotesquely. Its snout was pointed, and sharp fangs glistened behind its twisted lips. Thick strands of green salvia dripped to the ground at its feet.

"Shit," Owen repeated dully, mouth falling open with shock.

"Get back! Everyone get back!" the Doctor yelled suddenly, waving both arms to better convey his urgency. He reached hurriedly for his sonic screwdriver, tossing aside several useless items like a rubber duck, an orange, and five feathers until he found the slim silver mechanism. He pointed it at the Thredanian, quickly thumbing through the various settings to find the one he needed.

The Thredanian unfurled its wings with a loud flapping sound, an animalistic shriek boiling from its lips. Salvia splattered both Martha and Ianto; Martha gasped aloud, clutching her arm, while Ianto cried out and clapped a hand over his cheek.

"What the hell…?" Owen, who was standing just to the left of Martha, easily saw the faint trace of smoke rising from her skin.

"It secretes acid in its salvia! Don't let any of it touch you!" the Doctor shouted hurriedly, finally establishing the correct setting for his sonic. He pressed the activation button, and a stream of vibrations inaudible to human ears flowed mercilessly over the Thredanian, assaulting its sensitive ears. It howled in agony, eyes blazing with fury.

Jack noticed the rage in the alien's intelligent stare, and felt a surge of intuition. "Doctor, I don't think that's such a good–"

And there was only chaos.

The Thredanian launched itself forward, moving with such speed and agility that it shocked all watching, except for the grim-faced Doctor. Fighting the obvious pain it was in, it forced its enormous body towards the Doctor. The Time Lord simply gritted his teeth and didn't move, increasing the power of his sonic even as the Thredanian dangerously advanced. Its toothy maw opened wide, revealing more of the dripping green saliva. Where it dripped in revolting puddles, the concrete sizzled.

"Doctor!" Jack couldn't just stand round any longer. He launched himself at the Thredanian, abandoning all caution and using his fists instead. He landed against its fleshy side, tearing at the tender tissue of its wings while trying to pull it away from the Doctor.

The Doctor's eyes widened, but he continued to bombard the Thredanian with sonic vibrations. Even as Jack dropped limply away from the alien, face almost completely eaten away with acid. It was a gruesome sight, and the Doctor quickly glanced away. He didn't understand why the Thredanian wasn't writhing in agony on the ground yet. The vibration level he was using should have knocked it out straight-away.

This just wasn't really his night.

"Oh my God!" Martha backed up several steps, unable to look away from Jack's decimated features. Her expression was one of horror.

The Doctor felt an additional surge of resolve. He upped the vibration signal of his screwdriver again, ears throbbing in pain. He grimaced, but his hand didn't waver. Unfortunately, the Thredanian was now bending down towards Jack's indifferent body, salvia burning even more holes in the exposed skin. Its teeth flashed in the glow from the surrounding streetlamps as it slowly lowered its massive head…

Two shots rang out, a pair of holes appearing side by side in the Thredanian's wing. Ianto stood with his feet planted slightly apart, holding a smoking gun. His expression was hard as he professionally kept his eyes averted from Jack's mangled body. Even though he knew the captain would come back to life as he always did, the sight was still extremely difficult to take in.

The Thredanian roared with rage, the sound grating darkly through the air and making several of the aforementioned streetlamps shatter. Even while Owen fired three times from his position, having finally got his gun in order, it didn't seem weakened. It was too full of anger and adrenaline to care about the pain right at that moment.

Eyes gleaming with a strange intensity, it focused on a new target, ignoring the bullets that Gwen and Tosh were now firing its way. It threw itself at the Doctor, knocking him to the ground. His head smacked to the concrete so hard that he literally saw stars, sonic rolling away from his numb fingers. He vaguely heard Martha shrieking his name, then there was a burst of agony throughout his body.

Everything faded into darkness.

* * *

"–fine, so leave me bloody _alone_! It's not like I'm bleeding everywhere! I'm _dead_, remember?"

"Owen, stop struggling! I'm just trying to – _Owen_!"

The Doctor jolted back into awareness, coughing and choking. As his watery gaze slowly cleared, he found himself to be spread across the back seat of the Torchwood SUV. Martha was shoved in next to him, looking slightly cramped with his head on her lap. He blinked rapidly, trying to figure out what was happening. From what he could make out, the SUV was in motion.

"What exactly is going on?" he asked with confusion. At least, that's what he meant to say. What really came from his lips was more along the garbled lines of, "Whmp empavity ef gomp oan?"

Martha looked down at him in shock, then a relieved expression crossed her face. "Oh, thank God you're all right, Doctor!" she declared happily, brushing a strand of hair from his sweaty forehead. "How're you feeling? Any, um, pain anywhere?"

The Doctor already knew by the insistent throbbing throughout his body that he wasn't really in top form. He cleared his throat, wincing, then slowly heaved himself into a sitting position. His trainers hit something with a solid thump, and he glanced down in surprise. Jack's gruesome corpse leered up at him from the floorboard of the moving vehicle, once-handsome face twisted grotesquely.

"Blimey," he croaked, quickly averting his eyes from the sight. He weakly rubbed his chest, noticing that his suit was badly torn. His hand came away sticky with blood. "I can't leave you lot alone for five minutes, can I?"

Martha followed his gaze, and grimaced. "He'll be fine in no time," she said quickly, sounding like she was actually trying to reassure herself. "It's _you_ I'm worried about. How many fingers am I holding up?"

The Doctor didn't reply, wondering instead how she suddenly seemed to have eight fingers on one hand. Strange. Didn't humans only have five? He glanced around the interior of the dim SUV, just as it jerked sharply to one side. He was thrown against Martha, and bit back a cry of pain.

"How you doing? Need a shot of pain killer?" Owen looked over his shoulder at them, ignoring Tosh. The pretty Asian woman was frantically dabbing a cotton swab of hydrogen peroxide against the deep gash on his arm. She didn't seem to notice that it wasn't bleeding, and certainly wasn't going to become infected.

"No, no. I'm, er, fine." The Doctor gingerly touched his face, and was relieved to find that it seemed relatively undamaged. He didn't want to regenerate just yet, not when he was having so much fun with these teeth of his. "But I just have one _teeny_ little question. Well, I _say_ one. More like hundreds. Including, 'Why are humans always so stubborn?', 'Why do the Daleks keep coming back?', and 'Where exactly are we headed at the moment?'"

"We're following the Thredanian," Gwen replied from the driver's seat, roughly jerking the steering wheel to the right. Most of her passengers cried out in protest. Including Owen, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt and ended up tossed to the floor.

"After it killed Jack and attacked you, we managed to scare it off with a Gondan blaster ray. Scorched the skin off its left wing," Ianto said quietly from the front passenger seat, across from Gwen. "So it's evidently not invincible, just _very_ hard to injure."

The Doctor suppressed an exclamation of disapproval, mentally reminding himself of the fact that the members of Torchwood had every right to be angry at the Thredanian. Not only had it attacked both Owen and himself, but it had killed Jack, and was now apparently on a rampage through Cardiff. Humans could only be expected to take so much before they wanted revenge, he supposed.

"Uh…guys? Target at ten o'clock," Owen said suddenly. He had been in the process of squeezing himself from the floor when he'd noticed the winged alien flapping past.

Gwen turned the SUV around accordingly, and the Doctor coughed several times as he crashed into Martha again. He deduced once he could breathe again that he definitely had at least one bruised rib. It would heal in no time, but it was still a nuisance, with all the running he so frequently did.

"Everybody get ready!" Owen threw open his door before Gwen had even come to a full stop, disappearing out into the darkness. The sound of him cocking his gun came clearly to the others, and the Doctor grimaced. He _really_ didn't like guns, but he obviously wasn't going to get Torchwood to stop using them, whether he liked it or not.

Ianto followed the medic's example, grabbing his gun from the waistband of his trousers and leaping out of the SUV. Tosh and Gwen followed, the former carrying the handy little scanner device that she seemed never to be without.

The Doctor and Martha exchanged a glance. "_Blimey_, they get around fast." The Doctor coughed weakly, rubbing his aching side. Seeing Martha looking at him with concern, he hurriedly pulled a face. "I'll be _fine_, Martha Jones! Don't look so worried all the time. It's so…so…domestic."

Martha looked disgusted. "Doctor, you never change, do you?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that? Why would I _want_ to change? I mean, _look_ at me! Besides, 'changing' is actually a very painful process involving many flashes of light and other timey-wimey things that I can't really explain to you, since you don't have the brain of a Time Lord. Thankfully." He looked momentarily haunted by something only he could see in his mind's eye. "So, anyway! Let's just leave it at that, and get out to stop Torchwood from getting killed by the Thredanian, yeah?"

Before they could climb from the SUV, there was a great gasping of air from the floor at their feet. Martha gave a little scream, and the Doctor gasped, though he quickly tried to hide his shocked reaction. Jack was sitting up in the floor, which was rather cramped for his tall form, looking round with a dazed sort of confusion. His brow was wrinkled, and miraculously unmarked by the acid that had previously eaten it away.

"Jack! Oh my God, are you okay?" Martha cried, reaching down to comfortingly pat him on the shoulder. Even though she had seen him die many a time, she never got over the mixed horror and wonder of it.

Jack blinked, trying to get his bearings. "What the _hell_ just happened?" he demanded.

"Well, our nasty little mate just killed you a few minutes ago," the Doctor offered helpfully. "Ate away your face with acid. And that jaw line you tried to convince everyone I was here to see when I first arrived," he added cheerfully. "Oh, you know. Nothing out of the usual."

"Huh," the captain said, frowning, just as the sound of three gunshots exploded outside the SUV. "What the hell? Someone want to tell me what's going on out there?"

"I'd wager that's your mates, trying to shoot the Thredanian," the Doctor replied disdainfully. "We've been following it ever since it killed you, apparently. And from those sounds, I _don't_ exactly think their attempts are going very well."

"Okay, Doctor. You're the expert. How the hell do we stop this thing?"

The Time Lord scratched the top of his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm _really_ ruining my reputation tonight, but…I don't have a clue. Nope. Nada. No beans."

Martha stared at him. "But, Doctor. You knew what the Thredanian was when you saw it. Don't you know how to stop it?" It was strange to think that he actually _didn't_ know something about the universe.

He shrugged. "Just because I've seen the species before doesn't mean I've walked up to them and asked them how they die. I'm not _that_ rude. That's like going up to a Beastial and asking them how they–"

"Okay." Jack abruptly cut him off. "Let's get out there and do the best we can, before innocent people are killed. You said this thing is worse than a Lohk, Doctor, and I'm _not_ going to let it muck about in Cardiff."

He hurriedly made for the nearest door, kicking the Doctor and Martha several times in the process. The Doctor collapsed, coughing, when one of Jack's feet so rudely made contact with his chest. He and Martha eventually tumbled out after the captain, and discovered a startling sight.

The Thredanian, wings spread out dramatically across its backdrop of the Cardiff skyline, roared angrily down at the members of Torchwood. Owen, Gwen, and Ianto had their feet planted firmly apart, and were firing upon the creature. Tosh stood off to the side, frantically pressing button on her little device. She was allegedly trying to figure out a way to stop the winged alien before it killed one of her teammates.

As though on cue to make a show for its new observers, it gave another vengeful cry, the primeval sound chilling Martha to her bones, then dived down at its attackers. Gwen cried out, dodging, and Ianto rolled smoothly away before he could be hit by a wing. Owen stared the thing down, still firing, and he was easily swiped away by a monstrously clawed foot. He cried out only once, then collided hard with the ground several feet away.

Tosh yelled his name, actually looking up from her screen, features marred with horror. Gwen and Ianto stared wordlessly, momentarily taking their gazes from the threat at hand, afraid that their deceased teammate had finally lost his head. Literally.

Fortunately for all of them, especially Owen, he was already sitting up. He quickly pulled the sleeve of his shirt down to cover a new bruise marring the skin of his shoulder before the others could see it, one that would be everlasting.

The Thredanian was apparently tired of being ignored. With another shriek, it flew down at Gwen, claws outstretched. Before she could defend herself, it grabbed her by the arm and attempted to rip said appendage away. She screamed, with both anger and pain, and tried to twist her body away.

Jack dashed away from the Doctor and Martha, joining the fray. He pulled out his relic of a gun and began steadily firing at the Thredanian. Following the captain's example, Ianto walked unhurriedly over to join him, squeezing the trigger of his own gun in perfect rhythm. Their teamwork was that of a well-oiled machine as they advanced on the cawing Thredanian. Bullets simply bounced off its leathery hide, but the collaboration was still spectacular.

Gwen, tearing her eyes from the pair of them, rushed over to Owen. Tosh continued scanning the Thredanian with rays of energy invisible to the human eye, checking for possible weaknesses.

But the Doctor had already spotted one.

His dark eyes became very round as he stared at the Thredanian's right wing, cradled protectively across the front of its chest. It wasn't very noticeable to the unobservant eye, and even looked natural, but the Doctor couldn't _not_ notice. There was only reason it would be hiding its chest like that: it was protecting the vulnerable point of its body.

He pulled out his screwdriver, hardly able to believe that stopping the alien could really be this easy. He almost wished he'd thought of it earlier, but that would have ruined all the…fun they'd been having. He aimed that screwdriver at the Thredanian's vulnerability point, and set it on the same setting he'd been attempting to use earlier. Then he activated the sonic.

A loud buzzing sound emitted from the slim silver tube, and Martha grimaced and covered her ears. The Thredanian's head whipped round, and it gave an unearthly screech of pain. Then it plummeted to the ground with a hard thud, sending small shockwaves through the concrete. It was obviously unconscious.

The Doctor slowly lowered his screwdriver, very obviously disappointed with his own behavior. "I'm so sorry; truly, I am," he muttered, though the creature had no hope of overhearing him.

"I must admit, that was _very_ anticlimactic," Ianto said, breaking the awkward silence.

Jack strode over, grinning from ear to ear. He slapped the Doctor on one shoulder, looking apologetic when the other man winced. "Great work, Doc. Crisis averted."

The Doctor nodded sadly, then suddenly brightened as an idea occurred to him. "Okay, let's get the Thredanian rounded up and strapped to the roof of the SUV."

"What?" Owen frowned, fastening his gun into the waistband of his jeans.

"We're going to take this beauty and dump him back into the Rift, so he can find his way back to wherever it is he belongs," the Doctor said firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

Ianto simply heaved a sigh. "I'll have to dig up the detailing paint when we get back to the Hub, then. It wouldn't be very professional to have claw marks all over the roof." He looked at Jack, raising a single brow. "And no, I'm not going to change my mind about your idea for transporting Owen up there just because of this one occurrence."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh, Ianto. You're _no_ fun." He clapped his hands. "Okay, people. Let's get the Thredanian bound to the roof and finish this up."

**

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**

**Guess what, everyone. My birthday is Monday! So if you review, it'll be like you're giving me birthday presents! Wouldn't that be _great_? *grins alluringly* … _Any_way, thanks for reading. :D**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer:** I don't own either _Doctor Who_ or _Torchwood_, though it truly pains me to say so. But if I _did_ own either show, there would have been at least one crossover episode like this fic. :D

**A/N:** Thanks so much for reviewing, everyone! Since this is the last chapter, I made it _extra_ long. *grins* And the very last of this is dedicated to Snow'sLuckyCat (you'll know which part when you read it! :P).

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Chapter Eight

Gwen pulled the Torchwood SUV to a smooth stop, and switched off the motor. Everyone climbed out, though the Doctor and Jack moved with obvious stiffness. The Doctor was mostly healed from his injuries, though that didn't stop him from feeling dim flares of pain whenever he shifted position. And dying was a painful process, so it was understandable that Jack wasn't feeling his best.

Owen climbed up onto the roof of the SUV, and balanced like a Hawaiian surfer on the wildest of waves. He began untying the Gleckania ropes from the Thredanian's unconscious body, which were made of the alien equivalent of steel. Ianto hovered worriedly, trying to make sure that the medic wouldn't scrape off any paint.

The Doctor fairly beamed as he watched Owen pass the alien down to Jack, Martha, and Gwen, who staggered under its weight as they deposited it over by the TARDIS. "I'm right proud of you lot, I am! Didn't even get angry when I told you not to kill the Thredanian. Makes a change from what I'm used to."

Tosh shrugged awkwardly. "From what you've told us, Doctor, the Thredanian is rather like the Weevils. The basic mind of an animal, just doing what comes natural to it. I don't think much of this was really its fault."

Now the Doctor was really grinning. "Jack, this one's definitely a keeper. And I don't say that a lot, mind you. Only occasionally. Well, I _say_ occasionally. The point is…well, never mind. You get the idea!"

"So how's this gonna go down, Doc? Before our little playmate wakes up and wants another round." Jack gestured at the Thredanian, questioningly raising a brow.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Just got caught up in the moment, there…" The Doctor trailed off, fumbling blindly in his pockets.

"Left pocket of your coat. Saw you put it there earlier," Martha supplied helpfully.

The Doctor blinked blankly at her for several seconds, then his hand emerged with the sonic screwdriver. "Martha Jones, you are a _star_! Brilliant, you are!"

She nodded once, smiling, to acknowledge the compliment. "Just comes with the territory," she said. "I learned to subconsciously watch what you did with things like your sonic, back in the old days. You were always misplacing important things when we really needed them."

Ianto looked pleased. "If you ever need a new job, Martha, I could use some help down in the archives," he said.

"Thanks, Ianto. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"Okay, kids. We're still on the clock," Jack said pointedly.

The Doctor snapped to attention, pressing a tiny button on the side of his screwdriver. "Let me just get the right setting turned on…ah-_ha_! Molto bene! Setting number twenty-_eight_!" He aimed his screwdriver at the Thredanian, and the Gleckania bindings harmlessly withdrew, leaving the creature utterly free. Jack tensed, hand drifting towards where he had sheathed his gun. But he didn't pull the weapon out, knowing that the Doctor _probably_ had the situation under control.

"What are you doing?" Tosh asked with unsuppressed scientific curiosity.

"I'm just activating the Rift for a few seconds, so we can pop our little mate in and send him back home," the Doctor replied absently, still fiddling with the slim tube in his hand. "Can't even begin to explain it to you. Very…timey-wimey. Time Lord stuff. I doubt your human brain could even begin to decipher what I was saying. Sorry."

"Don't knock her till you've tried her," Owen spoke up unexpectedly. "Tosh's brilliant."

Tosh flashed him a smile of pleasure at the unexpected compliment. Behind her, Gwen and Jack exchanged an amused glance. Maybe Owen wasn't as oblivious to how Tosh felt about him as the rest of them thought.

The Doctor merely looked interested. "Is she now? Well, then maybe…oh, _here_ we go!" He bounced up and down once, looking like an excited schoolboy. "Here comes the Thredanian's trip _home_!" He pointed the screwdriver, then a burst of white light exploded in midair. The Thredanian's winged body was sucked into the portal as Martha and the Torchwood team shielded their eyes from the intense glow. And then the Rift opening was gone, as suddenly as it had come.

There was a moment of silence, then there came the sound of a small dog yipping. Everyone turned to see an elderly woman and her tiny poodle, whom she had evidently been out walking, even at this time of night.

"Howdy, ma'am!" Jack called casually, in his best attempt at a Western accent.

"Bloody Torchwood," was the woman's only comment, as she turned and continued unhurriedly on her way.

The Doctor's eyebrows had almost merged with his hairline. He didn't seem to find it strange that the woman was out walking her dog this late, as he thought all humans were just a bit eccentric. That's why he liked the stupid apes so much. "Jack, I thought you said this was a _secret_ organization, Torchwood," he commented.

Jack was in a good mood after their success, so he merely rolled his eyes. "All right, everyone. Back to base."

* * *

As the door of the Hub rolled back, gate clanging open and lights flashing, the members of Torchwood, Martha, and the Doctor walked inside. Above their heads, Myfanwy the pet Myfanwy soared past.

"Well, this calls for a right celebration, then," Owen said. "I'll go get the beers then, yeah?"

"Yeah, Owen. For once, I think you just had a good idea." Jack clapped the medic on one shoulder, ignoring the look of pointed disgust he received.

"Oh no you don't," Ianto said quickly, Welsh accent even more pronounced than usual in his hurry to speak. "The last time you were in there, everything was _completely_ out of order. And keeping this place tidy is hard enough as it is, with all of _you_ _lot_ here," he said severely.

Gwen laughed outright. "Nice one, Ianto. You just made my day, telling Owen off. He bloody well deserves it!"

Martha also laughed, as did Jack. Only Tosh seemed reluctant to join in the merriment.

"Also, I don't think you'll be drinking anything, Owen," Tosh said hesitantly. "It probably wouldn't be for the best."

"Bollocks, Tosh! I bleeding _forgot_!" Owen swore, looking aggravated. In the exhilaration of the moment, he'd forgotten about the fact that he and beer didn't mix so well, since he'd died.

"Uh…Jack?" The Doctor caught the captain's attention. He had been strangely silent ever since the disposal of the Thredanian had been completed. "Can I, er, talk to you for a minute? Won't take a tick, I promise."

"Go ahead, Doc. I'm right here." Jack grinned, though he already knew, deep down, that the Doctor wanted to discuss something in private with him. Something he didn't want the others to hear.

"I mean, in the meeting _chamber_," he said, though his beaming smile seemed a bit stale. "I'm sure you know the one. It's where I didn't get my ginger tea earlier." His teasing tone held something darker beneath it.

Jack's grin slipped. "Right. Uh…Owen, Ianto, you get that beer. Remember, Owen, none for you. Tosh, type up a quick report about the Thredanian while it's still fresh in your mind. Gwen, you lend her a hand if she needs it. And Martha…just _chill_." He waved his hands at them all, then backed out of the room. The Doctor followed him, and slipped casually into the lead.

The two men walked all the way to the conference room without saying a word to one another. Jack kept both hands in his pockets and stared at the Doctor's back. He knew he was about to hear something important, because the Doctor didn't get serious for nothing.

Though part of Jack wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to hear whatever it was the Doctor was going to say.

When they finally reached their destination, Jack closed the door before turning to face the Doctor, who had propped himself up against the table with both hands stuffed in his pockets. "Doctor, there are easier ways to get me alone than this. We could have just gone to my office, you know." Jack wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. When the Doctor didn't reply, he asked flatly, "So, have you finally decided to spill the beans and tell me everything?"

The Doctor carefully considered this. "Well, I suppose I could tell you that I was going to tell you everything, but then your head would explode. Which wouldn't be pretty. Understandably. Exploding heads never are, really. But anyway, it would be impossible for your head to contain _everything_, Jack. Only one person I know of has ever done that, and it didn't end well." His smile was sad, haunting.

Jack only stared at him, raising a brow.

"Er…why are you looking at me like that?"

"Doctor. I know you're hiding something from all of us, including Martha. So tell me, 'cause I hear that the truth sets the soul free, yeah? What's up?" he asked firmly.

The Doctor shrugged, obviously not exactly feeling inclined to set his soul free at the moment. "Jack, I can't even _begin_ to tell you what's happened since we've last seen each other."

"Ah-_ha_! So you _are_ from the future!" Jack exclaimed triumphantly. He folded his arms and leaned against the door conveniently positioned behind him. "Spill the beans, Doc. Am I still such a ladies' man when we meet again? And what about the jaw line?"

"I know it's hard to believe, Jack, but I wasn't actually looking at your jaw line at the time. You were on a video screen while I was being held prisoner, threatening to blow things up," the Doctor said with uncharacteristic irritation. "So I was understandably distracted."

Jack chuckled. "Sounds like I don't change _that_ much in the future, then. So, um…who was I threatening to blow up? So I'll be, you know, ready. Was it an alien threat, or was I just mad at Owen again?"

Much like Queen Victoria, the Doctor wasn't amused. "You know I can't tell you that. Is your memory already starting to go? Blimey. I don't want to change time anymore than it already has been changed. End of discussion. Finished. Done. That's all for now, folks." He hesitated. "But I just wanted to say…don't always be so harsh on your team, yes? They, well, they won't always be around like they are now."

Jack's grin faded, a look of horror replacing it on his handsome features. "You mean…?"

"I'm sorry." The Doctor didn't say anything else, but his silence said more than words ever could.

"Then I'm going to lose some of them." The life almost seemed to drain out of him. Jack's shoulders slumped, and the way he was leaning against the door suddenly seemed to be a way of holding himself up, instead of a simple gesture of nonchalance.

The Doctor straightened, pulling both hands from his pockets. "Well, you knew it would happen eventually, Jack. You're _immortal_. You'd be daft to think otherwise," he said with false optimism.

Jack nodded woodenly. "It's obvious you want me to do something. So what is it?" he asked dully. He tried his best not to think about the images lingering in his mind's eye: of the four people he'd grown to care for so deeply lying on the ground, bodies broken and battered.

"I hear you've got these little white miracle pills that wipe away memories of certain events. I'm not so sure I approve of that little practice by the way, but they'll serve handily enough for my purposes."

The captain looked up quickly. "You want me to Retcon someone?"

"Yes. All the others. Not yourself, mind, because that would be a bit odd. And who knows how one of those things would react with your system, being as _wrong_ as you are. Only the others. Make sure they forget everything. That's how it works, isn't it? Just tell me if I'm wrong." The Doctor finally clamped his lips closed again. He tended to babble when he was even a little bit nervous. And he was also still in not a little bit of pain.

Jack continued to look appalled. "But, Doctor. All these things they've learned, meeting you…they'll forget _everything_ about all that." When the Doctor didn't reply, he asked warily, "Even Martha?"

The Doctor winced theatrically. "Even Martha Jones. We'll meet again. In not too long a time, in fact. Something to do with Sontarans. And fire. And cars. And poison gas. And red hats. And _guns_. So no harm done, eh?"

Jack didn't comment on the rhetorical question. "Okay, Doc. I'll do this for you. But will you at least stay for the beer?" He didn't want these good times to end. Because once they did, it would be like they had never happened. The others would forget all about these exciting new experiences, and he wouldn't even be able to discuss them with Martha.

The Doctor shook his head, grimacing almost comically. "I don't drink. _Welllll_, except for tea. I love tea, me. Ginger, to be precise. Saved my…oh, I already told you that story, didn't I? Never mind, then."

"Oh. Then I guess it's time for you to ride off into the sunset on that little blue box of yours," Jack said flatly, not even attempting a smile. "Actually, the Time Vortex. But I guess you get my point, Doc." He paused, suddenly snapping to attention. "Doctor, it's been an honor, as always."

"Aw, don't salute. Whatever you do, just…_don't_." The Doctor shuddered, briefly wondering if his next regeneration would enjoy being saluted to. He prayed that it wouldn't become so. Though he probably wouldn't mind that so much if he were _finally_ ginger.

Jack's lips curved slightly. "I'll see you around, Doc."

"Well, _you'll_ see _me_. But _I_ won't see _you_, so be sure not to tell the _old_ me anything about this. When I came here, I had no idea what was about to happen. More fun that way, don't you think?" The Doctor gave a small wave, then opened the door to leave.

Jack sharply saluted, and the Time Lord's shoulders tensed as he somehow sensed the dreaded gesture. But he left without comment, leaving the door wide open as he drifted off down the corridor.

The captain heaved a deep sigh, shoulders drooping once more. It was good to know that he would see the Doctor again, but would he ever come across _that_ version again? One that coincided with what had already happened to him? It was starting to look like that earlier time with Martha and the Master and the Year That Never Was was going to be the _only_ time.

He sank down into one of the chairs, pulling a packet of Retcon tablets from his pants pocket. He slid five white pills into his other hand, and put the small package away. No matter how much he _didn't_ want to do this, the Doctor had ordered him to, for the sake of multiple timelines. He had no choice.

Then he had a thought, one that didn't bode too well with the Doctor's intentions. Owen couldn't drink beer, and he couldn't digest Retcon into his system. So how the hell was he supposed to forget that all of this had happened?

Jack felt momentarily panicked, heart beating frantically against the inside of his ribs. The timelines were all going to be destroyed, ripped apart, the minute Owen didn't take a Retcon tablet with the others. And it was going to be all his fault!

Then the answer struck him like a bolt of lightning or a ton of bricks, both of which he had experienced deaths by at least once, nearly causing the heart that had been beating so quickly to stop.

The Doctor never would have forgotten that Owen was dead, and that his memory couldn't be induced. And he hadn't bothered to explain an alternative means of preserving the timeline, which meant…

Jack put his head in his hands. Owen was going to die. Well, become dead_er_. That's why the Doctor didn't consider him to be a threat to the timeline, and why he had warned him about losing at least one teammate. And it was going to be before he ran into the Doctor again.

"Shit," he whispered to himself, the crushing realization feeling as though it was brutally tearing the very air from his lungs.

"Jack?"

The captain's eyes flew open, and he spun round to look towards the doorway. Gwen stood there with the others, Martha included, looking concerned. "Is something wrong?"

He forced a smile that felt bogus onto his lips. "Nope. And I hope someone brought me a beer. You better not have left me out of this little party." _Especially not now,_ he added silently.

Ianto set down two bottles on the table, and all the others except Owen followed suit and sat theirs down as well. Jack couldn't have had a better opportunity if he'd planned it, so he took it by getting to his feet and casually standing over them.

"Where's the Doctor?" Martha asked with confusion, glancing round the room. The others looked at her when she spoke, which was when Jack swiftly slipped pills into four of the bottles.

"He had to go. You know how it is." Jack shrugged, attempting to plaster a look of content onto his face. "Had to be the hero, then run off to his TARDIS. Business as usual." He sat down in his chair and took an exaggerated sip of his beer, which prompted the others to do the same.

Martha looked hurt, but quickly covered the vulnerable expression. "I would have thought he'd at least say goodbye," she muttered, taking another sip.

Jack felt the urge to comfort her, even though he knew she would be forgetting this whole experience in just a few moments. "He said you'd meet again shortly. And admit it, you _do_ miss traveling with him."

She shrugged. "Okay, maybe a _little_. But I'm perfectly happy right where I am, thanks very much," she said.

"I still think he was a nutter," Owen said.

"Shut it, Harper. He's not as crazy as you think he is." Jack couldn't bring himself to insert any real menace into the words, now that he knew the truth about Owen's coming fate.

The medic rolled his eyes. "Says _you_, Harkness."

"I thought he was a right looker," Gwen said offhandedly, elegantly sipping from her bottle. "His eyes always seemed to be bugging out of his head, but that hair really improved him a lot, I think."

Tosh nodded with appreciation, blushing. She glanced quickly towards Owen to see if he'd noticed her approval of the Doctor's looks, but he didn't really seem to care.

Martha laughed out loud. "Just don't tell the Doctor that. That ego of his does _not_ need any more inflating."

"And you were feeling a bit insecure, weren't you, teaboy?" Owen leered menacingly at Ianto. "Thought Jack might like his Doctor _more_ than you?"

Ianto's eyes narrowed minutely as he stared darkly back at Owen. "You should have been the one feeling insecure, Owen. He was definitely the better Doctor of the two, I'd say."

Owen looked outraged. "_Oi_! Watch it, Jones!"

Jack couldn't help noticing the way the other four were starting to slump tiredly towards the tabletop, starting to lose consciousness as the Retcon took hold of their bodies. He stared down at his hands, which were white-knuckled as they clutched the hardly-touched bottle of beer. "I thought you all did great today," he said sincerely. "Even you, Owen. You worked with the Doctor and helped neutralize the Thredanian threat without anyone getting seriously injured. So I just wanted all of you to know that I'm proud."

"What the hell?" There came the sound of Owen leaping out of his chair, causing it to clatter to the ground. "Jack, what's going on?"

Jack looked up again, and saw that all the others had drifted off into peaceful unconsciousness. The Retcon had evidently began to work on their memories.

He took a swig of beer to stall for time, then met Owen's incredulous gaze. He wouldn't tell him of the coming end to his existence, but he could certainly explain about the complexities of timelines and why the others needed to forget. "Sit down, Owen. I need to enlighten you on a few things."

* * *

The Doctor inserted his key into the TARDIS lock, then stumbled inside. He pulled the door firmly closed behind him with a loud creak, then leaned wearily against it for a few seconds. His body was aching and throbbing in various places, and he had quite the pounding headache.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and glanced around the cavernously empty control room. It seemed even emptier than when he had left it hours earlier, thanks to all the time he had spent with Jack, Martha, and the others. He kept expecting someone to pop out from behind a chair and ask where they were off to next. And the feeling of sadness when that didn't happen was overwhelming.

He limped slowly over to the console, and began his routine of starting up the TARDIS engines once more. He flipped countless switches, and pressed quite a few buttons. Then he rang two bells and whacked a rubber mallet against several parts that were protesting a little. Finally, the refreshing sound of the engines grinding and wheezing filled his ears. He smiled, relishing in the fact that he had once again reentered the Time Vortex, then got down to the business at hand.

Moving carefully, he shrugged out of his coat and dropped it across the two bolted-down seats. He grimaced with disgust at the sight of several ugly bloodstains left over from both the Weevil attack and the Thredanian follow-up, wondering if he had any stain-remover in at the moment. He hoped so. That coat was simply too good to give up.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket, and loosened his tie. Then he also unfastened his shirt and peered curiously down at his body. The pale skin of his chest was peppered with purple bruises and bloody scrapes, though he had certainly healed quite a bit. He wasn't exactly at death's door, but that didn't stop his many injuries from hurting. Quite a lot, too.

He shook his head grimly. He needed to get himself fixed up in the medical bay before going on to any new adventures. Which was a real shame. He had been planning, somewhere in the back of his mind, to go somewhere with real snow. Perhaps somewhere in the 1800's. A bit dull, but it still had the faint potential to be interesting.

He started talking to himself, mostly just to chase away the silence that lurked all round him. As he spoke, he started off across the control room, towards the dimly-lighted corridor just ahead. Behind him, the TARDIS continued grinding, fighting off the intense storms of the Time Vortex.

"Okay, first things first," he said to no one in particular. "Patch yourself up, then off to see some _real_ snow. The white, fluffy good stuff. Right. Sounds brilliant. But only if there are some slobbering aliens involved, preferably kidnapping beautiful damsels in distress. Though I suppose it's doubtful." He paused for a moment, and a grin lit up his face. "Allons-y!"

**

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This was definitely one of my favorite stories that I've written. *smiles fondly* Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed it, and thanks so much for reading!


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